5-Dimensional AI prompting & shawarma: David's infosec internship

Backstory & first steps abroad

Q: You're combining your Bachelor's in Gothenburg with an internship at a security firm. Can you tell me more about that?

David: "This semester, we had the opportunity to study whatever course we wanted or even go on an exchange semester at a different university abroad. Exciting times. I wanted real-life experience, which is why I started reaching out within my network for any internship opportunities.

Currently, I work four days a week and dedicate the fifth day to my studies. Working in Information Security can be exhausting with all the buzzwords, fear-driven marketing, and, of course, the never-ending events in this niche. I manage the combination by staying structured, like nation-state hackers." (laughs) "Besides that, getting the necessary means from Korper/Neo to handle it helps a lot.

As I said before, I wanted to experience a completely different work environment and get real, hands-on experience with relevant IT work."

Q: Nice. So you've been busy. Did Korper approach you, or did you pick them from a bunch of companies? What happened?

David: "I reached out to my network, and my aunt actually knew Benjamin, the founder of Korper and its security arm, Neo.

She set up a meeting with Benjamin, during which we briefly discussed the possibilities I could have within his company. At first, we discussed having me intern as an RPA consultant working on mission-critical processes. Because of my not-so-technical background, I would be a better fit to dive deep into digital growth, UX design, and overall marketing. All of this while remaining focused on the IT side of things.

I was really grateful for the opportunity to work with such a refreshing team and unique assignments."

Q: What stood out to you when you first started at a Dutch company? Was there any cultural shock? If not, what made it "Home"?

David: "It was actually a huge shock. Back in Sweden, I had extensive experience working for major global corporations, where my impact was essentially nil. I didn't have much freedom or room to grow; you were like a needle in a haystack. But here at Korper, I had full responsibility for all of Neo Security's marketing.

They gave me complete control over all decisions and changes I wanted to make. That's how I became 'Head of Marketing' day one. Though I lacked experience, it really made me grow and develop my skills on an absurd level, with the help of my colleagues in practice.

I'm a content machine now." (laughs) "Kidding, I mostly do 5-dimensional AI prompting. All of that, while trying to learn how ethical hacking works in practice. In a few weeks, I'm going back to Sweden, and I can not wait for proper food. Tho I thank the shawarma place nearby here, it saved me. And I saved their annual revenue."

Q: We'll get to this later, but just curious, why Neo and not Korper itself?

David: "Their branding could definitely benefit from a refresh. Who doesn't?

Benjamin let me know that Korper just got a Marketing firm involved to take on this challenge. That had me thinking as I wanted to set my own tone, rather than co-working with a firm that had been doing so for years.

It is much more interesting to build: learn how to fall, make Digital Growth happen, and develop a strategy to work out. The tone we set at Neo Security is the same: builders, no bullshit. A not-so-corporate, joyful vibe, with great UX graphics to really connect with our audience.

So, I decided to go with Neo instead; I would be able to work closely with a hacker who allegedly had his own Wikipedia page while he was still in prison. That's an interesting job description.

I have learnt a lot from the people over at Neo, from business modelling and copywriting to understanding the infrastructure of large global companies. I realized that security can go bad, and really fast."

Q: How do you balance this internship with the administrative responsibilities you still have back in Sweden?

David: "Hmm, I study parallel to the internship. Most of the work from school is related to my work. I'm writing a 10-page literature report that connects literature to my practical work experience and organizational theories.

I link it to courses in informatics, which can be very boring, especially when it's all theoretical and abstract without real context. All students write a weekly report on what they have done, the problems they encountered, how they solved them, and whether they learned anything new.

For myself, I can manage it well, but specific periods are still more stressful than others. I still want time to enjoy the city of Amsterdam outside of my work and studies."

Career path & motivation

Q: What first sparked your interest in technology or digital systems?

David: "Of course, I've always had a strong interest in video games, from FIFA and GTA to more competitive games like CS:GO. I have almost 4,000 hours in CS:GO alone, so it was a big part of my youth. But I became really interested in complex systems during my time at Tetra Pak after high school, before starting university.

I had a 2-year gap year working as a warehouse operator, got in touch with SAP, and became really interested in how detailed the system was and how it connected everything within such a big company, tailored to its specific context.

I'm not super interested in building systems; I'm more interested in understanding how they work, designing the UX, and implementing them tailored to the organisation and their people. Ultimately, making them work."

Q: You joined without experience in information security. What made you sense this was the right environment to learn and grow in?

David: "I looked at the news and saw the same story every single day: another hack, another leak. Another breach. The overall situation seems bad, and I wanted to learn more about it. Is it really that bad, or is there any nuance?

Neo provided the direction and freedom. They let me watch in on security assessments. It didn't feel like 'studying' at all, and I could turn all this new information into proper, real content, in line with the Facts-Over-Fear principle we live by."

Background, hobbies & personal interests

Q: You're watching the entire IMDB Top 250. What made you start that challenge?

David: "Growing up, I always watched a lot of films with my dad, I mean a lot of films. That really sparked my interest, and when I grew older, like around 18, I began rating all the movies I've seen to keep track of the ones I've seen and to see which ones are worth a rewatch. I love that you get cultural knowledge from films and a better perspective of things.

I've currently reviewed approximately 400 movies and series on my IMDb account. I recommend IMDb if you want to keep track of your movies and make watchlists. Just don't hack into my account, please. It would be a lot of work to rework." (laughs)

Q: You love buying and testing new tech. What's a recent gadget that genuinely changed how you work or live?

David: "Honestly? Might be a boring answer but my AirPods Pro 3, I really love them! Biking back and forth to work every day, it's really nice to have good-quality earbuds that can withstand the awful Amsterdam weather, since it rains almost every day. When I bought them I also thought that the live translation function would be working, which would be nice being the only person in the office not speaking Dutch. Unfortunately EU AirPods live translation is not currently available for residents within the EU due to regulatory concerns. Typical."

Working at Neo

Q: You were given complete freedom in choosing your own tools. How did that shape the way you worked?

David: "I created my own dashboard and calendar in Notion, a tool I never heard of before coming to Neo. It is so good, you can customize everything and connect all different folders in such smart ways and make automations to save time from tasks in such an easy way even for a non-technical person. Then I decided to make my graphical portfolio in Figma, a design tool I had little experience with before from school. I really love Figma for all the endless design possibilities you have, and you can customize and make small tweaks so precisely. I have done our new logo, banner, all the content, pictures and other stuff all in Figma."

Q: You shifted the tone from "corporate" to more authentic and insight-driven. What inspired that change?

David: "I saw how shitty and boring the old content was, I wanted to switch it up to stuff I would be interested to read. Although it's hard in certain areas I think I did a quite good job. The key is to NOT use AI/LLM too much because the internet is overflowing with AI fluff and AI slop, which makes everything so generic and the language boring."

Q: How has the hybrid work setup affected your experience here?

David: "To be honest I only worked from home once, my apartment isn't the best. Because the housing situation is so awful I had to take it and still pay an awful lot of money for it. That's probably the worst about Amsterdam, the housing situation, even for a short time stay for people like me. That's why I always come to the office. The office is really nice, and we're usually 3–5 people working here. It has a strong startup vibe, which creates a great atmosphere. We get free drinks, food, beer, and coffee, and the location is great, close to lots of great spots."

Partnerships & Products

Q: Korper recently partnered with Passguard. What's your impression of their products?

David: "I actually had my first partner meeting with Tom and I got a really good impression of both him and the company. Purely from a UX perspective Passguard dashboard looks great, really easy to navigate. But the purpose of the application is scary. Passguard detects infostealer infections in real time by monitoring criminal marketplaces. You are alerted the moment compromised devices or sessions connected to your organization appear for sale.

Pepijn gave me a whole tabletop exercise going through dark web marketplaces with infostealers credentials and access brokers. He showed me how easy data leaks are and how scary the internet is." (laughs)

Projects & accomplishments

Q: You worked on a major branding transformation. Which part of that work are you most proud of?

David: "Probably setting the whole new tone of Neo Security. Fixing the logo, banners, Figma portfolio, partner portfolio etc. Since I arrived our LinkedIn followers has grown from 200 to 600 followers, a lot more interactions, website traffic has gone up 100%+ and have generated a couple of really good leads. So I am really proud that my work really has an impact. I don't think either Benjamin or Camiel believed I would have such good impact to be honest because of my lack of experience before I arrived."

Reflections & experiences

Q: What has been the craziest or most unforgettable experience during your months in Amsterdam?

David: "Work-wise, it has to be the post I made about the EY leak. The attention it got and how fast it spread to other news pages was crazy. Our socials completely blew up and the traffic to our website was massive, so I felt really proud to pull off a feature like that.

Outside of work, the craziest experiences have definitely been the nights out! It's such a great city to party and grab a drink in. I especially love De Pijp and Jordaan. The vibe is amazing, completely different from what I'm used to in Sweden."

Q: Tell me about the good, the bad and the ugly about Amsterdam?

David: The good: "Great colleagues, great workplace, great experience. Really enjoying my stay in Amsterdam. I also have my aunt and cousins living here in Amsterdam so having family here is nice." The bad: "I hate the weather here in Amsterdam. It is also dangerous to bike in this city, I have almost been in a bike accident twice here." The ugly: "I miss cooking my own food. Where I live now I share a kitchen with 50 other people and a few rats" (not kidding) "and it is disgusting. The rent is super high for a student, especially compared to Sweden."

Wrapping up

Q: If a student from Gothenburg asked whether moving to the Netherlands for an internship is worth it, what would you tell them?

David: "Despite the rats, the rain, and the near-death cycling experiences? Absolutely worth it, it's a no-brainer. As soon as you've survived the Amsterdam nightlife, you'll be able to handle pretty much anything a future employer throws at you." (laughs)

"No, seriously, though, the experience is unmatched; the city has an energy you don't find in Sweden."