Ben Brown
Security Intelligence Response Engineer II
Akamai Technologies
New Orleans, LA USA
“I was able to get into a position where I can make a big difference and impact on people’s digital lives.”
Videos
By Roadtrip NationBen Brown
Milestones
My road in life took a while to figure out.
In college, his passion was learning about people, their world views, and the human condition.
While he was studying anthropology and international relations, he worked a few IT jobs on the side.
But as he started to make progress on his IT jobs, he hit a glass ceiling: people started asking him to list his degrees, and were discouraged by the fact that he’d never finished high school.
After he went back to school and completed an adult education program to earn his high school degree, a friend invited him to check out Akamai Technologies.
He realized that the company’s goals were to make the internet a safer and more secure place for everyone, which really struck a chord with the anthropology side of his interests.
Says that as more and more of our lives are brought online—from our clothing to our toasters—we have more vulnerable spots where we can be attacked by cybercriminals.
The thing about his job that really lights him up is being able to teach others how to best protect themselves online.
For him, success isn’t “the numbers in your bank account—it’s the sense of being at peace and having fun at what you’re doing.”
Keep following my journey
Education
Career
Security Intelligence Response Engineer II
I use my knowledge of anthropology to look beyond how cyber security incidents occur and focus on why.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Education
Technology
Helping People
Day to Day
I currently work on dark web and cybercrime research, threat intelligence, incident response, and adversarial resilience for a large Content Delivery Network (CDN) and the customers we service.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Think about where you want to be in 5-10 years. Look at other people who have the job(s) that you want and find out how they got there. Use that to build your own plan.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Myself:
"What am I getting up for? Is this really what I want? "
Challenges I Overcame
School Drop Out
First-Generation College Student
Interviewed By
Life Hackers
Cybersecurity careers and pathways
