Welcome onboard Martin Steen-Holmberg!

After six months of an internship, both link22 and Martin felt that a continuation was natural. Martin comes to link22 directly from the Master program in Computer Science at Linköping University. We talked to Martin about life, cybersecurity, and work. Sleep, music, and snacks are important to his well-being. A meaningful mission and fun colleagues are important to him in his work life. Below is the full interview.

What is important to you in an employer?

Fun colleagues, opportunities to influence and a positive atmosphere.

What interests you about cybersecurity?

Everyone, everywhere needs some form of cybersecurity, so the opportunities to help are many.

Cybersecurity is broad and has an impact both nationally and privately. I feel that in my private life, I get more use out of knowledge about cybersecurity than knowledge about, for example, AI or robotics. My feeling is that there is a greater chance that someone I know will ask me how to avoid phishing than they will ask me how to make a robot or adjust an AI.

How do you think you can contribute to link22?

What interests me right now and what I hope to raise awareness about is user-friendliness and consequence analysis.

What do you need to be motivated?

I appreciate flexible working hours, meaningful and current tasks, and a good supply of cookies and snacks as it usually helps me to get through the last hours.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I try to keep up with the political discussion and watch series. Playing board games with friends is also an interest, and I hope to get a small group going at link22. I am also a big Eurovision fan, and now it is the high season, so it is something I am looking forward to! They haven't won their national competitions yet, but Norwegian "Queen of Kings" and Finnish "Cha Cha Cha" are favorites right now.

What is your favorite item?

Either my headphones as music can be very therapeutic for me, or my mattress as a good night's sleep really makes a difference.

What did your studies involve and how can it be useful at link22?

I took a Master in Computer Science with a specialization in Secure Systems at Linköping University. I hope that I have learned some newer techniques and tools over the years that may not have reached link22 yet, and I can spread them there.

What advice do you have for students who want to apply to link22?

Think about whether you want to work for a larger or smaller company. link22 is of the smaller type and that's a good thing in my opinion. Everyone knows everyone, and work in smaller groups seems very effective.

If you, as a student, also cannot think of an idea for a thesis project, check out link22! In my and Ellen's journey, we contacted many different companies, and either they had no suggestions and said "come up with something yourself" or there was only one thesis project with a security theme that did not suit us. On the other hand, link22 had a lot of suggestions ready, which simplified our process a lot. They were, of course, open to the student's own suggestions, and you could also adjust alternatives, but having something to start from made it much easier.