CyberWire Daily - Greg Bell: Answer the question of "why?" [Open Source] [Career Notes]

Episode Date: November 24, 2024

Enjoy this encore episode where we are joined by Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Corelight Greg Bell, as he describes the twists and turns of his career bringing him back to his childhood joy of computers. Working in a myriad of fields from human rights to Hollywood to writing a history of conspiracy belief before pivoting back to technology. Focusing on the relationships within the open source community, Greg works to change and improve the world through his mission-based organization. For those looking to begin their career in cyber, Greg offers that great mentorship and working for great organizations where you can soak in the culture are really important. And, we thank Greg for sharing his story with us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You're listening to the Cyber Wire Network, powered by N2K. of you i was concerned about my data being sold by data brokers so i decided to try delete me i have to say delete me is a game changer within days of signing up they started removing my personal information from hundreds of data brokers i finally have peace of mind knowing my data privacy is protected delete me's team does all the work for you with detailed reports so you know exactly Thank you. JoinDeleteMe.com slash N2K and use promo code N2K at checkout. The only way to get 20% off is to go to JoinDeleteMe.com slash N2K and enter code N2K at checkout. That's JoinDeleteMe.com slash N2K, code N2K. My name is Greg Bell, and I'm the co-founder and chief strategy officer for CoreLite, an open-source cybersecurity company. Well, I was lucky to belong to that generation of kids who grew up programming computers.

And so early on, I think by the time I was eight or nine, I was spending possibly an unhealthy amount of time programming. But now at this much later stage in my life, in some ways, I'm returning to those things that brought me a lot of joy when I was a kid. My career is pretty much all twists and turns, which I really like. You know, some people like consistency and predictability, but for me, that actually kind of makes me unhappy. And I like change and learning curves. And so I did a lot of different things before I settled into a technical career. I worked in human rights. I worked in refugee resettlements.

I worked for Amnesty International. I had a little Hollywood detour. I got a PhD at UC Berkeley where I wrote on the history of conspiracy belief. And then ultimately, back when sort of at a point in my life when my kids were in school and I really needed to get into a career that would pay well and help support the family, I pivoted back into that technical work. I focus now in my work on our connection with the open source communities that sustain us. Our company is an open source company, so it exists in symbiotic relationship with open source software communities. And so I'm working every day on sort of the puzzle of how to engage those communities, how to inspire them and energize them, and how to build the business model of Corelight around those communities. If I'm at a cocktail party or where people just don't want to hear too much about what I do, I will often say that our company builds kind of like security cameras for network traffic. security cameras for network traffic, and that we're a mission-based company, that we have an idea for ourselves that's bigger than just commercial success, but we want to defend

institutions that matter, you know, educational institutions, financial, communication institutions, and we have a mission kind of like the Department of Energy, where I used to work, had a mission to accelerate scientific discovery. I work for a company now that has a similar mission and a sense of global ambition. We want to change the world, but we also want to improve the world. And I think that helps us build a culture that attracts really interesting, loyal employees

who are excited to get up, even on a bad day, excited to get up and work to support the mission that we're advancing. And it creates a kind of meaning for folks who work in the company. It answers the question of why. And I think that's what mission organizations do for most people. So maybe that's why I'm attracted to them. And we're trying to build one here as well. to them. And we're trying to build one here as well. For early career people, I always say that great mentorship is really important and working for great organizations is important. So in those

earliest jobs, jobs in your 20s, it's important to soak in the culture and the norms of great organizations. And I mean, universities, nonprofits, great mission-oriented companies, of great organizations. And I mean, universities, nonprofits, great mission-oriented companies, and having really good bosses who can help you, challenge you, and help you advance quickly. And I would almost recommend choosing those jobs

with regard to the mentor and the organization more than the pay or the title or anything else because that kind of early imprint is so critical. With all of the multiple overlapping layers of pain in our world at the moment, one of them for young people is just the pain of not knowing how their lives are going to unfold and what their career choices ought to be. And I guess I experienced some of that, but I think it's really acute for kids right now, people earlier in their careers. And I just, I guess I wish I could say to myself back then,

don't worry, relax a little and enjoy what's happening. The skills that you're learning now and the lessons that you're learning will be valuable and important in ways that you can't anticipate. So don't worry about not having it all figured out and so expect surprise and don't expect to have it all figured out when you're 22 or I'm you know in my early 50s I don't have it all figured out and it's a good thing I don't so

take delight in that.