CYBERSECURITY EXPERT

Hello, my name is Thibaud.
I work within the CERT Societe Generale as an Assistant to the team leader, and I have been working since for Societe Generale Group within that same team.
I work for a CERT.
CERT stands for Computer Emergency Response Team.
It's a super operational team of cybersecurity Experts.
We try to be the eyes and ears of Societe Generale Group within the criminal world with the aim of understanding what's going on and how these people work.
So we try to anticipate cybersecurity incidents, but also to take care of them when they occur.
Our aim is simple: to protect our infrastructures, and our customers' data.
So we have two main missions.
It's spending time studying what the groups of attackers do, to really try to understand their working methods, and also to react on the incidents.
So we're going to use a somewhat specific kind of expertise, which is the Forensic.
And what exactly is Forensic?
It is just like forensic medicine, when we analyse a crime scene.
Except that our crime scenes is a computerised system, a machine, a network, to try to understand what is happening when suspicious activities are going on.
So that's it, we are a unique team within Societe Generale Group and we are trying to provide services for the whole Group.
A good cybersecurity Expert is above all someone who is very adaptable, flexible and open-minded.
We usually need to discover an information system that we did not know about one hour ago, quite quickly.
So you have to be curious, inventive and handyman.
I think that's not bad.
A good technical background is useful.
It is quite useful since we spend a lot of time analysing malicious codes which are usually made complex by attackers.
And well, technique isn't everything.
You also have to be able to popularise concepts and to deal with stressful situations.
We spend quite some time explaining what we are doing to our top management who is very concerned about these issues.
What I like about my job is that you never get bored.
Between the intensity of cybercriminal activity and the evolution of threats, we are in a business that is constantly evolving.
The job I do now is not at all the same as the job I was doing six years ago.
So that's really quite nice.
We spend a lot of time learning every day, and this is really nice, and it looks like it is not going to change.
I have been working for Societe Generale since.
During this time, I have had access to a lot of trainings which has allowed me to develop and maintain my skills, and to adapt myself to this constantly changing ecosystem.
I have also been sent to conferences every year with specialised speakers. We sponsor some of them as Botconf.
It's really nice and there's a real recognition of technical expertise.
In a Group like ours, this is quite rare, it must be said.
Behind that, we can telework, which gives flexibility in the way that we work.
And so, all of that makes things pretty nice.
Honestly, since then, I am quite proud to have contributed to the Societe Generale's CERT team.