Tough challenges, the hacker community, and not least the unique culture at Assured β that's the life Benjamin thinks is worth living. The man who left the company and came back again.
Like many others, Benjamin Svensson has worked at Assured for a long time. He has been with the company since 2017 and has actually left once β but came back after just three months.
I had only worked at two companies before and felt I wanted to try something different than consulting
, explains Benjamin. He took a job at another company but quickly realized he missed Assured. So, I contacted my boss Jonas, and was welcomed back with open arms.
They discussed how to include what he was looking for in the new role. How to get the best of both worlds: No problem
, Jonas said.
It was that culture Benjamin wanted to return to. The unpretentious, engaging, and permissive mentality that's hard to find at other companies, especially large organizations, according to Benjamin. But it's also something that's embedded in the walls somehow.
Benjamin holds the official title of Senior Security Specialist, but he finds titles less interesting. I'm a hacker at heart, just like everyone else here
, he emphasizes. His role is, of course, primarily as an IT security consultant, helping clients prevent threats and improve their IT security work in various ways.
But the tasks vary widely β in addition to traditional penetration tests in web, infrastructure, and Cloud, Benjamin also has experience testing Automotive (vehicles), Maritime (ferries), OT (industrial networks), and Social Engineering (including phishing and physical penetration testing).
The culture we have at Assured is incredibly important to me. It's worth preserving.
He points out that it's incredibly rewarding to tackle clients' unique, tricky challenges β but there's much more to it than that, he proudly states: The culture we have at Assured is incredibly important to me. It's worth preserving.
And this is something everyone at the company contributes to, according to Benjamin. But he doesn't shy away from admitting he's more than willing to carry a big part of the load to contribute to it himself β a true culture bearer, simply put.
There are no requirements to be in the office, although it's encouraged β in the right way. Instead, the company actively works to make sure everyone wants to come in. There's also plenty of flexibility based on individual needs, Benjamin says. He happily adds that he tries to be in the office as much as possible: The little conversations you have when you're not staring at a screen are so valuable.
On the side, Benjamin is involved in running the Gothenburg chapter of OWASP β Open Worldwide Application Security Project. But he has more irons in the fire. In addition, he co-founded the annual IT security conference Security Fest. It's rewarding on so many levels, he says: People fly in from all over the world. And then there's a party, fun nerdy activities, and other good stuff.
Being involved in the community with others who share this interest gives Benjamin a lot: Running these organizations and just chatting a bit is so rewarding. It's when you gather all these intelligent people that the magic happens.
At Assured, Benjamin feels he has even more opportunities to develop and influence his own development than he did at other places β that he truly has the freedom to steer his own growth here. It all depends on me, of course, but I always have the conditions and support I need in my role
, he says, continuing: Assured is very helpful with that, the support. But they're just as accommodating if you have ideas too.
I received so much support from our CEO Jonas during that time. It was absolutely essential, and I am forever grateful for it.
Although it's easy to get the impression that work is everything, Benjamin emphasizes that it's not the case for him. Recently, he went through a really tough personal period and elaborates: I received so much support from our CEO Jonas during that time. It was absolutely essential, and I am forever grateful for it.
He received support from the company as a whole, but especially from Jonas. That says a lot about Jonas's character and the company Assured
, Benjamin concludes.