Karo
"It's a continuous process of improvement that we go through as a team."
I started as a working student at the Cyber Defence Centre (CDC) at ConSecur GmbH. Working as an IT security analyst was a great introduction to the job: Analysing alarms in the classic way and detecting whether the anomaly is a security incident or a so-called false positive? I quickly learnt why lsass should not be dumped, why programs with the name iri89h.exe should not be in the autostart folder and why a DNS request to aaabbbbbccc.xyz is not a good sign. Especially if you come from a more theoretical university, so much practical work can quickly overwhelm you.
With my master's degree in IT security and a few years of professional experience, I took the next step at ConSecur's CDC.
As Security Operations Lead, I have personnel responsibility and am responsible, for example, for optimising internal processes such as the typical consequences of a three-shift operation. At the Cyber Defence Centre, we work around the clock, 24 hours a day, every day. This means that all important information is passed from one shift to the next. At this point, we are going through a continuous improvement process, which I lead: How can we document even better, how can we organise handovers even better? The same applies to optimising alerts by adapting the rules so that we don't drown in a huge number of the same alerts.
What I also really like at ConSecur are the opportunities for further development. I've already been able to work on my first IT forensics projects. I can imagine doing more in this area beyond my role as Security Operations Lead in the CDC. It's incredible how much knowledge you gain about technology, like a look behind the scenes. That's why the analysis, whether in the CDC / SOC or as a forensic scientist, is still the most exciting and the most fun part of the job. The more in-depth, the better.
What unites and drives us in the team is the necessary respect for the tasks entrusted to us. This attitude, together with the mindset of remaining curious and taking responsibility, is a key factor in the quality of our CDC.
I find it fascinating to exemplify and develop this attitude. I can already do this in the recruitment interviews when it comes to finding new, suitable people for our team.
Hasan
"I train junior staff like myself back then."
When I think about my work as an IT security analyst, I really like the two dimensions that this job has for me.
On the one hand, I do something good for myself with every shift at the Cyber Defence Centre because I learn something new every day. At the same time, I protect my customers with the knowledge I have.
Both of these things make me feel very good. I've always enjoyed learning, developing and being given responsibility.
People can rely on me.
I came to Germany from Syria in 2018.
After completing my Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications in Syria, I decided to study IT Security at the Ruhr University in Bochum. Software and network analysis are more my thing than the hardware side of the bachelor's programme.
After the first semester, I looked for a job. Sure, I could have helped out in a restaurant. But I was much more interested in staying in my field. Earning money and using my work to consolidate what I had learnt during my studies and gain practical experience - that's what I wanted.
After a few job interviews, I decided in favour of ConSecur. What I liked was the perspective that ConSecur showed me: I would receive intensive training from experienced employees in the first few months so that I could do my job as an IT Security Analyst very well. ConSecur gave me the benefit of the doubt in the first interview. That impressed me.
Now, three years after my first day at ConSecur, I work full-time at the Cyber Defence Center. Today, I accompany new employees as they take their first steps.
Can you believe it? I train junior staff like myself back then, who as a second-semester student learnt what a simple alert is and what sophisticated malware is. Today, working students and other newcomers are looking over my shoulder. They learn how I use my experience to analyse tickets and how I act in the event of a security incident. Later, we change perspectives: I take on the role of observer and look over the shoulders of the newcomers to see how they apply their acquired knowledge in practice. It's fun to accompany this development into a specialist.
I really like the concept of learning from each other and passing on experience in this way. This also applies to the culture here at the CDC, which is one of togetherness. If you need a pair of eyes from an experienced colleague to back up a decision, all it takes is a signal. I believe that we all value and benefit from each other here.
When I look back on the last few years, I do so with great pleasure and a little pride. After my bachelor's degree in Syria, I completed my master's degree in IT security in 2022 and have been permanently employed at the CDC in Bochum ever since. I feel at home here!
I am proud that ConSecur has given me these development opportunities, for example to work as a mentor for new employees. I'm pleased that there will be other options for me, such as digital forensics or consulting, which I could pursue at ConSecur in the future.
When I look back over the last few years, I've come a long way.
Linus
"I love identifying clever mathematical problems and solving them with maths."
After leaving school, I realised that I wanted to do something technical or scientific as a career. I had advanced courses in maths and
physics and could imagine doing something in these areas just as well as chemistry or applied computer science.
In the end, I chose IT security as the degree programme that excited me the most. With maths, computer science and cryptography,
it included three areas that I was already very interested in at the time.
By the fifth semester, I knew that I had made the right decision for my path. I'm enthusiastic about identifying clever mathematical problems at
and breaking them with maths. I got to know ConSecur's Cyber Defence Center through a fellow student. In 2019, I was able to do my three-month basic internship at the CDC, and I've been working here ever since.
Every shift, I'm presented with lots of exciting cases via the tickets, which contain the latest attack methods that I get to see live. I don't know what they will be,
in the morning when they start. I really like this excitement. Solving security incidents awakens my ambition.
Compared to the early days, I now deal with tickets more routinely. As an experienced IT security analyst, I'm much more likely to recognise correlations in security incidents
. Nevertheless, the attitude in dealing with each individual ticket has remained the same.
I have seen ten thousand cases that all have the same pattern. And yet I will approach the 10001 with the same humility as my first.
Cracking something and figuring it out seems to be right up my street. In my spare time, I like challenges like solving puzzles. What I also appreciate is the dynamic within a team. As a passionate basketball player, I like the team spirit on the court. I find this team spirit here at the CDC. ConSecur has given me the confidence to work on projects abroad in addition to my work at the CDC. I really enjoyed that. I would like to continue on this path with ConSecur.
