Wonder what it feels like to work within Sandvik Coromant IT security? Meeting Marcus Wickström, Identity and Security Architect, should give you a small peek into what goes on behind the scenes – but don’t peek too much! It’s confidential.
Let’s start by immediately pointing out the obvious: the normal practice of meeting people, something we completely took for granted, has changed somewhat. We need a good couple of minutes to recover that social flow, summon the energy and focus needed especially when interacting with someone new.
It’s OK to say it — we’re all feeling a bit rusty.
But have you ever reminisced about infamous ransomware attacks one moment then flawlessly segued into the wonders of pickleball the next? That’s how our conversation with Marcus began – no pause, no full stops. Get to the very end to find out what has been going on within security and to see how Marcus stays active during this long Swedish winter.
So, let’s get right into it.
Tell us a little about yourself and how you ended up in IT security.
I grew up in Gävle and left for the university in Östersund in ‘96 where I studied Systems Engineering within IT for 3 years. At that time when I graduated — around ‘99 — was when the big IT boom happened. A lot of people didn’t even graduate, companies were screaming for IT people. Stockholm was booming, so I had my eyes set on it.
That was when I met my now wife. She’s from Sandviken, and I also had a childhood friend working at Sandvik IT back then who reached out: “Hey, you’re not going to apply for any jobs here?” I was only looking at Stockholm, as if that was where I was supposed to go because everyone else was going. So long story short: I started in Sandvik IT in February 1999.
I spent almost 16 years there working different positions, then I moved to IT security after a while within central IT — the area of identity and access management. That’s my current focus area.
So, you’ve always worked for Sandvik?
I left Sandvik for a government agency for a few years then got headhunted back to Sandvik. I thought the next step would be to get closer to the business side – to Sandvik Coromant.
Sandvik Coromant has an interesting thing going on now moving into more digital products, so I put a lot of energy into creating awareness to make sure that our digital products are secure and that we're delivering to our customers. So, I’m pushing for that journey — promoting those types of skills and spreading awareness. It has been a lot of fun actually. There is a long way to go, but everybody is talking about it, so it feels like we’re all going in the right direction.
We’re also acquiring a new company within the same area. It’s a growing area of IT security within applications which is a bit new to me because I’m not a system developer really, but it's fun to learn.
It sounds like you were very focused from the very beginning on IT and that's what you’ve been doing all these years — that’s a lot of growth and most of it done within Sandvik and Sandvik Coromant.
If you look at Sandvik in general, that is very common. People move around all the time — to Coromant and from Coromant. That’s an advantage. There are different positions to build your skills on and contribute to another area of the company, both internally and externally. That’s why many people stay for so many years. You can grow and try different things in different places within the organization and that was the natural step for me as well. Now I am within the CIO office of Sandvik Coromant, so things are changing. But it’s an organic change.
Sandvik Coromant is focusing more on the digital side of things lately, as you mentioned: digital products and services are evolving daily for a more sustainable approach to waste reduction and resource management. What kind of projects are you working on right now?
In the security area it’s a lot about being available for many different projects. Lately it hasn’t been so much focus on the products, I’m also responsible for the customer identity management system: all customers that are logging in, making accounts, etc — I’m responsible for all that. We are trying to make this process as smooth and secure as possible.
We’re boosting the security awareness within the IT area and we’re working on a plan for our digital products.
Our competitors are also moving into this space. We don’t need as many cutting tools as before, that's common knowledge — so what should the business be in the future? Many are looking into digital solutions. It’s the overall shift in the industry.
And with that, how has IT security changed?
Compared to banks, we’re not under the same type of threats of course, but those have been the biggest change – ransomware campaigns. They have become their own industry on the dark web. When you’re usually attacking a company, sometimes it’s to get information — sure — but in most cases it’s to get money. New companies get hit every day, it’s all over the news.
But the best thing about working in security is that you never know what's going to come up. You learn a lot because it's such a wide area and it's everywhere. From risk management to technical details — the threats are changing all the time. I think that's what I enjoy the most, there are always new things coming. New opportunities to learn – and that’s a very important aspect of every job.
And what’s that about pickleball, you may ask?
“When I can’t go mountain biking in winter, I play pickleball.” Marcus says, “The great thing about it is that people of all ages and skill levels can play together and still have a good time.”
Every Tuesday afternoon is pickleball time at Hedviglundshallen in Gävle. Equipped with solid paddles made of wood or other materials, the goal is to strike the ball and send it into enemy territory over the net. The players can be two or four – there were four at every net when the pictures were taken.
Pickleball is a mix of badminton, table tennis and tennis, so if you’ve played any of those, you will fit right in. It’s intense and exercises your hand-eye coordination and fast reactions as you try to defend your side of the court. It takes some getting used to, but this “easy tennis” is a great way to socialize and blow off some steam after work (speaking from experience here, after a single try). Look up “Top 10 pickleball points of the year 2021” and see for yourself.
Thank you for teaching me how to play, Marcus!
Stay tuned for more cozy and personal interviews with Sandvik Coromant employees. Who are they, what do they do, what is their vision? These are the people who make us thrive.
