What does it really mean to spend a summer with mnemonic?

Isabel Sandersen, Johannes Fosdal and Anna Beruldsen, three of our summer students, can help us answer that question. Although they come from different fields of study (Communication Technology and Digital Security, Industrial Economics and Technology Management, and Electronics and Electrical Engineering), they were put in the same team in mnemonic's department for preventive security (MSI).

- Our common ground is our background in technology. We were hired as a group, with the intention that our different skills would benefit each other. Everyone has contributed in different areas, and we have cooperated well along the way and made sure that all three always are keeping up with what we’re doing, says Isabel.

Helping the helpers

The idea for the project that Isabel, Johannes and Anna spend their summer working on came about during the spring. Hoping to benefit some of those making an effort in the Ukraine, the Norwegian Helsinki Committee and the Red Cross were asked if they were interested in a contribution to their IT and information security posture.

The mission the MSI summer students was to help the two organisations with various security solutions, in areas such as password policy, email authentication, domain control etc.

- During the summer, we looked at some of the security challenges these and similar organisations have, the environments and guidelines they have today, as well as made recommendations and implemented some changes, says Anna.

- We have been responsible for the project and managed it ourselves. It has been a big responsibility, but we’ve been comfortable knowing we have mnemonic behind us when needed, she continues.

- We have really felt that we’ve learned and mastered a lot of new things during this summer. Nobody has told us how to solve the various challenges, but we have received recommendations and guidance, and we have discussed different approaches with colleagues in mnemonic and figured things out together along the way, says Johannes.

Becoming a consultant for a summer

The project, which lasted six weeks, is one of seven different summer projects in mnemonic this internship period. What the projects have in common is that they all help solve real needs for customers and for the security analysts at mnemonic. Here you can read more about one of the other projects mnemonics' summer students worked on this summer at Samfundet and UKA in Trondheim.

- It has been exciting to work with real customers and real security challenges. When you work closely with a customer like this, you realise how important it is that we do what we do. We have experienced that the work we do actually creates value for the customer. It is particularly rewarding when it is these particular organisations that we’re doing the work for, says Johannes.

- At the same time, we have also gained a lot of technical knowledge from projects, says Isabel. – I’ve become familiar with many areas within the field that I did not have experience with before. One aspect is of course all the technical thing we learn, but you also learn how to work with people. It makes you realise that you have to think holistically about what you recommend. Although it is easy to delve into interesting technical details, our solutions will be part of a larger environment and actually used by the people who work there.

Positive feedback

Dag Fedøy, Head of Communications at the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, says that they are very satisfied with the summer students.

- We are delighted with the efforts of the students! We have met professional and skilled consultants that have helped an exposed idealistic human rights organisation take important steps to improve its IT and information security. Thank you to mnemonic for offering the pro bono assistance. This is of great importance, not least for our work in Ukraine, he says.