As digital technologies make inroads into every aspect of our daily life, we cannot escape the fact that our society is exposed to a plethora of online risks!

Priyanka Raghavan, our next pathbreaker, works as Cybersecurity Lead at A.P. Moller – Maersk, where she addresses vulnerabilities in systems susceptible to cyber-attacks.

Priyanka talks to  Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about starting her career in Schlumberger (Houston) working for their Seismic business, participating in “Capture The Flag” (CTF) competitions outside of her regular work, and transitioning internally as a Cyber Architect for their Geophysics Technology center.

For students, as our world becomes increasingly digital, the need for more professionals in this field is important. With Generative AI becoming commonplace, it’s crucial to combat technology misuse by criminals.

Priyanka, can you share your background with our young readers?

I grew up in Madras to parents who instilled in us a strong sense of discipline and believed in all round development. My Dad is an ophthalmologist and ex-Indian Armed Forces. My mother had many careers teaching Accounts, Commerce and Economics to std XI and Std XII students, and turning to running a successful outdoor landscaping business for two decades. They made sure both my sister and I not only honed our academic skills but also learnt tennis, swimming, dramatics and Carnatic music. Being exposed to a variety of hobbies from a young age apart from academics meant I learnt some good skills of preparing for competitions, importance of practice to get good at something, and ability to deal with failure.

My dad bought a computer in 1988 to help with patient history and was one of the earliest doctors to have that in my locality. Growing up with a computer at home allowed me to explore and experiment, sparking my passion for computer science.

What did you do for graduation/post graduation?

I did my BE computer science (1999-2003) from PSG Tech Coimbatore.

I did my MS IT Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University USA

What were some of the key influences that led you to such an offbeat, unconventional career in Cybersecurity?

I decided to pursue computer engineering primarily due to the post-dotcom boom and bust era. During this time, I observed an increase in the number of women joining this field, including school seniors and neighbours. This observation, along with my passion for computers, encouraged me to embark on this career path. Additionally, the grades I achieved in my 12th standard exams bolstered my confidence in my ability to succeed in this program. Lastly, my parents believed that studying at PSG Tech Coimbatore, away from Madras, would foster my personal growth and independence.

How did you plan the steps to get into the career you wanted? Or how did you make a transition to a new career? Tell us about your career path

My father strongly advocated that I pursue my undergraduate degree at a college outside of my hometown. He believed that living away from home would contribute to my character development and boost my confidence. Additionally, the fact that my uncle had studied at PSG Tech, an established institution with a strong computer science program, played a significant role in our decision.

For my master’s degree, selecting Software Engineering as my field of study was a straightforward decision. Although I held a four-year undergraduate degree in computer science, I opted to enter the workforce immediately after college. My experience at TCS Mumbai emphasized the significance of software engineering and architecture in software project management and delivery. Consequently, I applied to Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Department for my master’s degree. I followed the due process as per the selection process and was lucky to be selected. I had talked to various people in the software engineering field that helped me make the decision

I started my career in Schlumberger Houston working as a Software Engineer for the Seismic part of their business called WesternGeco, and then moving to a Team lead and Product Architect role. Many products coming out from there were to do with depth imaging of earth’s surface to help with Oil and Gas extraction and therefore I had a lot of opportunities to dive into application development with a focus on graphics programming, high performance computing and geophysics. I learnt a lot of great optimization techniques in terms of coding and design practices that hold me in good stead till today. Schlumberger is a very engineering focused company that places a lot of emphasis on learning outside work and helped me with setting up a regular continuous learning habit. This is the reason I participated in CTFs outside of my regular work.  When an opportunity arose to apply for a cyber architect position internally, I applied and got the job. I was a cyber architect for the Geophysics Technology center at Schlumberger where we looked at cybersecurity practices across technology centers. We worked very closely with the product teams to ensure cyber security guidelines and best practices were embedded. We were a group of cyber architects that had a dotted line reporting to cyber and chief product Architect and thus it was easy to roll new guidelines and practices across the organization. 

How did you get your first break?

I got my first break in cyber security after 12 years in the software industry. I used to take part in capture the flag tournaments and that helped my manager recommend me to the job of security architect for my organization.

Capture the Flag (CTF) competitions are exercises in which participants, either individually or as part of a team, are challenged to find and exploit vulnerabilities in a system to capture a “flag” or piece of information.

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

In my initial job, I faced two primary challenges: comprehending cyber security culture and familiarizing myself with security terminology. Cultivating curiosity became a crucial skill for success. My guiding principle was simple: when in doubt, ask. Never trusting but verifying is very important in this field.

Where do you work now? 

As part of my role at Maersk, I address vulnerabilities in systems susceptible to cyber-attacks. Key skills include designing resilient systems to withstand such attacks and a strong passion for hands-on problem solving. In the event of an attack, the critical question is how swiftly can we recover.

My typical day at my job is quite chaotic and pacy which means in a day I could be solving anywhere between 3-5 completely different problems

The thing I love about my job is the variety of problems I see.

How does your work benefit society? 

In this digital age, I view cyber security professionals as the protectors of our vast digital realm. As attacks become increasingly sophisticated, our collective efforts as a community hold immense significance for the entire world

Tell us an example of a specific memorable work you did that is very close to you!

I take great pride in contributing to the development of a unique system at my current job, ensuring the safety of numerous company customers.

Your advice to students based on your experience?

As our world becomes increasingly digital, the need for more professionals in this field is important. With Generative AI becoming commonplace, it’s crucial to combat technology misuse by criminals.

Future Plans?

I plan on being a cyber security professional as it excites me immensely, and I will spend more time helping teams with secure design and security testing to bake strong defense into their products.