Matt Dahl, L'09
Current Title and Employer: Principal Intelligence Analyst (Global Threat Analysis Cell), CrowdStrike
Current Location: Denton, Maryland (Remote)
How would you describe your job? I am the most senior researcher focusing on analyzing trends and developments in adversary tactics in the area of cyber espionage. This research allows our customers to better know how to defend their networks.
How did you obtain your job? By using my network and working my way into a job. After law school, I clerked for a Virginia state court judge. My goal, though, was to get a job in the area of national security law. As my clerkship wound down I reached out to a friend and former co-worker from a job I’d had before law school. He’d moved on to work at a company in the cybersecurity field. He helped get me an internship with the company as a cyber threat analyst. Although it wasn’t a legal job, I thought it would be an opportunity to get work in the area of national security. That internship turned into a full-time job and I’ve been in the field ever since.
What makes you passionate about your work? Cybersecurity threats are so varied and ever changing that there is always something new to look at. On any given day, my career in this field has allowed me to investigate the activities of foreign governments attempting to steal sensitive information and criminals attempting to steal large amounts of money. Particularly in the area of cyber espionage, cyber threat intelligence work provides a unique perspective on geopolitical events. On occasion, the research we conduct even makes headlines.
What are 3 pieces of advice you’d offer to current students interested in an alternative or emerging career path like yours?
- Don’t be intimidated by the field of cybersecurity. A lot of people think you need to be a computer engineer to have a career in the field, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. I work with people from a variety of backgrounds and they all make important contributions.
- Do learn some of the hard skills in the field. Again, you don’t have to be on the level of a computer engineer, but learning some basic technical concepts, or even learning to code, can give you a big edge and make the job more fulfilling.
- Don’t worry about going to law school and not becoming a lawyer. Law school teaches you skills that are valuable in any field, particularly the ability to research and write. I’ve never truly practiced law, but I found a career in a field that demands analytical skills, and where I’ve looked forward to going to work every day.