At Black Cell, growth is more than a promise – it’s part of our culture.
In this interview, Dani, who began his journey as a Level 1 SOC Analyst and is now a Managed Security Services Director at Black Cell, shares how curiosity, challenge, and teamwork shaped his career path and professional development in cybersecurity.
In this interview, Dani, who began his journey as a Level 1 SOC Analyst and is now a Managed Security Services Director at Black Cell, shares how curiosity, challenge, and teamwork shaped his career path and professional development in cybersecurity.
• Why did you choose Black Cell? How did you decide you wanted to work here?
After the second year of my bachelor’s degree, I decided to take a gap year in order to gain some real-world experience. After a short stint in the world of red teaming, I landed an interview with Black Cell as a level 1 SOC analyst.After a very convincing speech by the CEO (who was present during the interview for some reason), I was convinced to give blue teaming a try. The rest is history.
• How would you describe Black Cell in three words?
Fast-paced, technical and fulfilling.
• What do you like most about Black Cell?
I believe our market position is somewhat unique and thus the types of projects we get to work on are very interesting. We are large enough to protect very significant critical infrastructures, yet we are small enough to rapidly adopt cutting edge technologies that other players would be late to even consider. Also, my colleagues are not only highly skilled technically but also extremely enthusiastic, which together with substantial ongoing investments in research, creates an enjoyable working environment.
• Who would you recommend the company to?
Definitely those who have a passion for cybersecurity and enjoy driving change. If you enjoy working with emerging technologies and seeing that your work results in a tangible impact, you’ll find yourself among likeminded people a tour company.
• What positive surprises have you had with the company?
I was surprised to find how accommodating the company can be in enabling your own path of growth and self-fulfilment. Want to work on something different? Want to do another degree or course? Got a moonshot idea you want to research? As long as you’re pulling your own weight, you’ll get to work on the things that you truly want to do.
• Tell us about a Black Cell success you are proud of!
I think one of the projects I’m most proud of is one of the automations I created. We had a detection source that was producing an intolerable volume of alerts. Given that this detection source operated as a black box without tuning options, yet it still produced a decent number of valid findings amongst the sea of false positives, we had to think outside of the box to come up with a solution. We decided not to use a SOAR system, as we believe them to be colouring books for programming illiterate skids (sorry SOAR fans). Instead, wemodelled a sophisticated decision tree for handling the alerts and I implemented the system over the next few weeks. After rigorous testing and verification, the system was done. The result? An over 90% reduction of alerts with a 0% false negative rate even after years of running. Thanks to some elbow grease and a little bit of ingenuity, the night shifts became a bit easier to handle.
• Tell us about your favourite Black Cell experience!
My real answer would be some of the legendary company parties, but given that such an answer wouldn’t be befitting here, just imagine I wrote some boilerplate inspirational anecdote :D.
• Who among your colleagues has had the greatest influence on you and why?
I joined Black Cell at a young age without a true direction in terms of my career. I knew I wanted to work in the field of computer science but wasn’t really sure that cybersecurity was the right fit. I believe the company had a very significant role in giving me guidance and raising me to be the professional I am today. There are countless individuals who helped in this journey, and they know who they are :).
• Why is it worth applying here?
The most important thing I can think of is the opportunity to grow. All of us here built our knowledge from the ground up, and I constantly see colleagues making breakthroughs and climbing the ranks. There are also no two identical days here, so I can guarantee you won’t be bored.
• How has Black Cell helped you in terms of your future?
The wide variety of experiences I gained here is what stands out most to me. Whether it’s the countless technical challenges, transitioning into a leadership role or even dipping my toes into public speaking; all of these opportunities came from my time at Black Cell.
• What kind of community/social experience does Black Cell offer?
I think this used to be an area we lacked in, but over recent years we have made great strides in. There are countless events popping up, both company and employee driven. Whether it’s a team hike, company banquet or old-school LAN party, everyone will find an activity they can enjoy whilst getting to know their colleagues.
• What is one or two sentences you would use to convince others to apply to Black Cell?
If you want to work at a place where you can just waste away and collect a pay check, our team isn’t for you. But if you have that itch for prying everything open and seeing what makes it tick, there’s no better team I can think of.
Author
Dániel Griffiths
MANAGED SECURITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
Daniel Griffiths started his journey at Black Cell as a Level 1 SOC Analyst and climbed the ranks to his current role of Managed Security Services Director. His main responsibility is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the SOC and to spearhead incident response when the need arises.
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