Balancing a thriving career in technology with personal life is no small feat, but it's a journey that Amruta Pathrikar, Digital Forensic Analyst, has navigated with remarkable dedication and resilience.
From moving from Mumbai, India to the USA for her master’s degree, to transitioning from a compliance role back to her passion for digital forensics, Amruta exemplifies the importance of work-life balance and a commitment to advancing technology. Her story is a testament to the power of following one's passion while maintaining a fulfilling personal life, making her an inspiring figure in the HPE Cybersecurity team.
Born and raised in India, I have a deep fondness for many unique aspects of my homeland. The food, especially Indo-Chinese cuisine and chaat (which I’m obsessed with), the bustling markets, and the tight-knit community are just a few of the things I cherish. Leaving all this behind to move to another country was the hardest decision I ever made. The most challenging part was parting from my family. When I told my parents about my dream to make a difference in the technology world, they supported me fully. Their encouragement motivated me to pursue my career in the USA.
I prepared for my GRE and TOEFL exams and applied to universities. I got accepted into four, but chose George Mason University for my master’s degree because their programs aligned with my interests.
Switching from System Administrator to SOC Analyst
I began my career as an IT Administrator in 2009, gaining valuable insights into deploying, installing, maintaining, and upgrading IT systems. I had some wild adventures, like working overnight to perform office-wide upgrades and cooling off IT-rack rooms with giant fans when the A/C went off. These experiences were amazing and fun, and I worked with a great team.
My interest in cybersecurity grew as I gained more exposure to different IT lifecycles. Being analytical by nature, I always wanted to understand why something did or didn’t work and how it could be prevented. My first security incident involved a malware infection from a phishing email, which kept me awake thinking about why it happened and why it wasn’t detected. This incident sparked my passion for cybersecurity, leading me to pursue SANS training and earn the GIAC Certified Perimeter Protection Analyst (GPPA) certification. I then sought out Cyber Security Analyst jobs, which led to my journey at HPE.
Preparing for Digital Forensics
To me, digital forensics is like solving a puzzle, finding anomalies and evidence from vast amounts of data to piece together the story of an incident. Working as a SOC Analyst prepared me for this role by exposing me to various types of attacks, the threat landscape, and the tactics used by different Threat Actors. As an SOC Analyst, I worked closely with the engineering team to enhance detection and prevention capabilities, which laid a strong foundation for my current role.
Rapid Promotion to Senior Information Security Analyst
I joined HPE’s Cyber Defense Team in 2014 as a Level 1 Cyber Security Analyst. I had the opportunity to work with incredibly talented colleagues, learn from their analytical approaches, and understand the specific threats to HPE. By tweaking my analysis tactics and working closely with the engineering team, I kept up with the changing threat landscape. Following my passion led to my promotion to Senior Information Security Analyst within a year.
Experience as an Auditor on the Compliance Team
When I resumed work at HPE after my maternity leave, I was part of a new team handling compliance, which was a completely different role. This experience gave me a firsthand understanding of security from a business perspective, considering legal requirements, regulations, contracts, and compliance needs. These insights have been invaluable in my current role, helping me provide additional post-incident remediation action plans that strengthen compliance.
Finding My Way Back After Working as an Auditor
While I learned a lot from compliance, my passion for being an analyst never waned and I aspired to become a digital forensics analyst. I studied for the SANS “Advanced Incident Response, Threat Hunting, and Digital Forensics” course and earned my “GIAC Certified Forensic Analyst” (GCFA) certification in February 2017. When I was moved to the compliance team I decided to stay and gain experience, but after a year, I realized I missed being an analyst. Although I enjoyed auditing and testing compliance requirements, my passion for forensics was stronger. I started applying for specific roles, and fortunately, HPE had an opening for an Advanced Threat and Response Intelligence Analyst.
Choosing HPE Over Other Opportunities
In 2018, I was actively applying for digital forensic roles and had interviews with other companies. However, when I received the offer from HPE, I was ecstatic and stopped looking further. I appreciated the company’s culture and work ethics. The work-life balance HPE provided was crucial for me, especially as a parent of a one-and-a-half-year-old. I wanted to balance my career in digital forensics with parenthood. HPE’s values, flexibility, and supportive environment made it the perfect choice.
Balancing Career and Parenthood
To this day, I have maintained a healthy career growth while staying close to my child. There are times when our team works tirelessly on incidents, but there are also times when I can spend quality time with my daughter, teaching her to paint, cycle, and spar in taekwondo. This balance makes work-life harmony achievable.
Taking Advantage of Parental Leave
In 2017, I took six months of parental leave. HR and my manager helped me navigate the process, and I felt fully supported to spend this valuable time with my baby. The supportive work culture at HPE, with its open-door policy and helpful colleagues, made a significant difference.
Day-to-Day Work as a Digital Forensic Analyst
As a Digital Forensic Analyst, staying updated on new threat techniques is crucial. My day-to-day activities vary, from analyzing artifacts during incidents to threat hunting, analyzing new tools, and understanding malware. The evolving threat landscape keeps my role dynamic and engaging.
Inspiring Others in Cybersecurity
I am proud of my journey from India to my current role in digital forensics. I am especially happy to inspire young girls in my family and friendship circle to follow their dreams and become independent and career-oriented. As the first woman in my family to work in cybersecurity, I encourage everyone to have a security mindset. For those interested in cybersecurity, I advise exploring the different career paths available, finding their passion, and giving it their all. As Oprah Winfrey said, “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”.
If you’d like to explore Cybersecurity career opportunities at HPE, find out more here.
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Recruitment marketing and content specialist. Seeking stories from the people within HPE to amplify and share with the world. Huge believer that authenticity of brand and voice will attract the worlds top talent.
