7:00 AM
I usually wake up any time between 6 and 7 am and always start my day by scrolling through social media and reading the news. I make myself a light breakfast, including a strong coffee, and listen to music while I start getting ready for the day.
8:30 AM
As I get to work, I put my things away at my desk and take a few minutes to chat to my team and greet some other colleagues. I usually begin my day by completing some small admin tasks including checking my emails, responding to anything that has come up in the past 24 hours, monitoring the team mailbox, and checking through my calendar for any upcoming meetings to anticipate the rest of the day.
9:00 AM
I research some of the platforms used within my team and read through news reporting before I begin creating one of my team’s daily reports on Cybersecurity. One of the specific reports I am working on is our threat landscape and monitoring this daily. It’s super interesting! Once I finish the report, I send an overview of what is to be included in the report to my manager to give the initial tick off.
10:30 AM
Time for the team stand-up aka team meeting! The team stand-up is held virtually as my team is based all around Australia. We discuss some of the important work to be completed during the week, what we’re doing for the day, and it’s an opportunity for the team to ask each other any questions. I note down everything I need to complete for the day which helps me stay organised and keep track of my tasks. After the meeting ends, I usually head out to the local cafe with either my team, fellow grads, or other work friends I’ve made.
11:30 AM
I usually have other ad-hoc tasks to complete which can be range from collaborating with other teams on different cybersecurity projects (I love hearing what other teams are doing in my space!), creating intel reports, and monitoring cyber activity on some of the platforms used in my team. When I joined the ATO I was blown away at the start of the art technology. We're always looking for the most innovative ideas and the most innovative programs that we can then put into action in our projects.
12:30 PM
After finishing off some work, I have lunch with some of my grad friends which are either outside the office if it’s a nice day, or in one of the many lunchrooms. It’s always great to spend some time with friends over lunch. It helps break up the day and energizes me to get through the afternoon.
1:30 PM
The next part of my day involves working on some cool and longer-term interesting tasks in the Cybersecurity space. This can involve anything from brainstorming ideas and strategizing a plan to conducting further research and analyzing data, depending on my progress and stage of the task. As part of the graduate program milestones, the IT grads are tasked with completing a project of their choice. My report is an analysis of a predominant ransomware attack and details how my team would respond if the original attack targeted the ATO systems and data. I make more progress on my report and presentation to stay on track before the upcoming presentation day.
3:00 PM
I usually have a meeting with some stakeholders. I really love the inclusive nature of my work and getting to meet so many people across the organisation who do really interesting work in the IT security space. During these meetings, I usually take notes and write down any action items I may need to work on.
5:00 PM
I wrap up work for the day and log off after checking if there was anything urgent, I need to complete. I get my things and chat with my team before I start making my way home.