Benjamin Paar

Senior system engineer internal.it

Be the change!

Benjamin Paar, Senior System Engineer at IKARUS Security Software, about contradiction and the attraction of the old and the new.

Benjamin Paar has been an integral part of IKARUS for more than 16 years. He knows all products, interfaces and features in and by heart. As a senior system engineer, he can answer any question about IKARUS services and has already tried every setting himself. He has already climbed masts during the installation of telephone lines, assembled and configured hardware, electricity and networks, and tailored customer solutions to their specific requirements.

But Benny Paar is also very familiar with IKARUS partner technologies. Smart end devices and industrial control systems have just as high a need for protection as IT – but completely different, sometimes even contrary requirements. “These small contradictions are part of the appeal and one of the reasons why my job never gets boring,” says Benny Paar. “On the one hand, we have solutions that have been successful for more than 15 years because they are constantly being adapted to new conditions: Features come and go, operating systems and benchmarks change, sometimes it has to be on-premise, sometimes it’s better to do it from the cloud. On the other hand, advancing digitalization and new developments in other industries give rise to entirely new threat scenarios. And so, we no longer secure only workstations, but also entire industrial plants!

IT security is one of the most exciting and also fast-moving sectors of the IT industry: “Every day I learn something new”, says Benjamin Paar: “Because even the other side never sleeps and invents new things to put us and the systems to the test!”

What did you want to be when you were little?

Train driver

When and how did you discover your interest in IT and/or cyber security?

In grammar school, there was a free subject, “EDV”. Somebody put a keyboard in front of me. I guess it was fate.

How did you become a System Engineer internal.it? What training, knowledge or experience was particularly helpful?

I just applied as a 1st Level Supporter, then quickly became a specialist for our products and took over the internal IT and firewall support. I have acquired most of my IT skills for these activities by myself.

Which (professional and human) skills are particularly important in your current job?

In any case, good communication with the team, coordinated processes in ticket processing and of course the know-how in the software and hardware with which you work and learn every day.

What would you have liked to know about your profession earlier?

Nothing. My job and my area of responsibility are fun, challenging and never dull.

What do you like most and least about your job?

I never try to evaluate it in order to perform all activities equally well, but of course, you also have to do short-term monotonous or very challenging things. But that’s part of it.

What is special about your role as System Engineer internal.it?

I provide tools for my colleagues and clients to make their work even better and easier. The interplay of all systems and the planning and design of environments are always a pleasure.

What do you think are good ways to get a foothold in the IT and/or cyber security industry?

You just have to take an interest in it and get started. Basically, we are all confronted with IT / cyber security every day, even if it is not so obvious at first glance. Every time we use the cell phone, wait at the traffic lights, sit on the subway or watch Netflix – everything is wired, “endangered”, and part of the big internet – in a remote sense.

Why should someone apply to be your new colleague?

Because we have a great working environment, great colleagues and an interesting and exciting job and we never get bored.

Transparency and Security in IT, IoT and OT

From the entry, the analysis and the utilization of data up to the planning of workflows, resources and costs – networked systems bring economic benefits and new knowledge to all business areas. The secret of a successful joint security strategy for IT and OT systems is to know their different needs.

IT-, OT- and IoT Security