Employee Spotlight: On Becoming a Defender at Cybereason

A market leader in cybersecurity, Cybereason surged out of the gate 10 years ago and has been growing exponentially since. With new technologies constantly emerging and new markets opening globally, Cybereason offers an expanding variety of careers. It’s the ideal culture for passionate, evolving people such as Sarah Cohen, Cybereason Senior Sales Manager for the North American market. Below, Sarah talks about what it’s like to work in one of the world’s most innovative, flexible environments—the champion for today’s cyber Defenders.

what’s your career path been like at Cybereason?

I’ve been at Cybereason for a little over three years. I wanted to move into an industry that was exciting, where there was a lot of opportunity and room for growth. After doing a lot of research in Boston, Cybereason seemed like a great fit.

When I joined, I was completely new to the cybersecurity field. I knew I wanted to be in sales, but I wasn’t sure of the capacity. I started out as a senior business development representative, and then Cybereason saw what I’d been doing and created a role that hadn’t existed—sales manager for our Managed Security Service Provider, or MSSP, partnerships. 

My focus now is on our sales and go-to-market strategies with our North American partner companies. I help empower them to provide a solution that gives their customers the desired outcomes they need to defend and protect their environments, companies, and livelihoods.

At first, the job was very much “build it as you go,” which I loved because I learned a ton. I was able to get the pulse of what was going on globally within the industry, and it required me to take different aspects of the business and put it all together in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to achieve in another role. That career path is sort of typical at Cybereason. We’re probably going to be doubling in size in a short amount of time, and the more we grow, the more we need to scale up.

What makes Cybereason solutions so special?

We have a unique background. Our founders are from an intelligence group of cyber specialists in the Israeli military called the 8200 Unit. And that’s where we got our background as “Defenders.” They essentially built our technology. It’s proprietary, so it’s like nothing else on the marketplace and it’s built to be “future-proofed.” 

We see new cyberthreats every day, and there’s no way to predict them all, but the way our platform is built, we can get ahead of those threats and stop them when they do come. This is where my role comes into play. We always think of our partners first and always do what’s right for them, and that really offers peace of mind.

What’s the typical workday like?

It’s busy! A lot of what I do involves having actual live deals in play that we’re trying to close, so besides scheduled Zoom meetings, there are a lot of calls that pop up. I’m constantly connected with sales reps and team members.

I definitely don’t have a 9-to-5 role, but it’s also really flexible. I can go out during the day, do errands, take care of what I need to take care of. 

What’s your favorite aspect of working at Cybereason?

The fact that I can be myself. One of our corporate values is “UbU,” which stands for “You be You,” and Cybereason really fosters that. At a lot of places where I’ve worked, there’s an expectation that you have to look a certain way, act a certain way; it’s all very cookie cutter. Cybereason really embraces who you are as an individual, your unique style, the way you work. When I used to feel like I had to act a certain way, that stifled how I was able to work and my ability to thrive. Cybereason’s full trust has allowed me to be more productive, be more vocal, and get more stuff done.

I also love our “Win as One” mentality. It really does take a team to succeed here, because there’s no one person who can do it all, nor should that be the case. The collaborative nature of pulling in different subject matter experts to get something done is something I love. Collaborating with different people in different departments, bringing their strengths to the table—we all learn from each other, which helps all of us. 

How would you describe the culture at Cybereason?

Work hard, always pushing, never giving up—and having fun.

We’ll have team outings for strategy sessions, which are extremely important, but then we go out to dinner, we do happy hours, we get to know each other. Being collaborative and having such a positive working relationship makes the day-to-day stuff so much better. My philosophy: Life can be hard; why work with people who make it harder? The easier it is to work with someone, the better off everyone is, the more you can get done, and the happier you’ll be.

Before the pandemic, we used to have regular celebrations at our office, whether it was a Valentine’s Day party—a cute little happy hour with snacks and beverages that were red- and pink-themed—or some really fun Halloween parties. The office always had a fun way of getting everyone together and relaxing. 

My favorite event happened two years ago, when we received $200 million of funding, and we dubbed our celebration the “new unicorn on the block” party. It really bonded the team; we worked so hard to get to where we were and our investors recognized that. This past summer, we got an additional $275 million of funding. So hearing that news and getting that validation is really exciting and solidifies why we’re here.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed work at Cybereason?

Aside from the usual adjustments companies are making during COVID with remote work and missing casual co-worker conversations in the kitchen when you get coffee or a snack, we are seeing a positive impact on the business. Coinciding with the pandemic and more people working remotely, there’s been an increase in cybersecurity threats and attacks, so there’s lots of opportunity to get out there and help many more customers.

Cybereason is one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies in the world, and was recently named to three Built in Boston’s Best Places to Work lists for 2022: Boston Best Places to Work, Boston Best Paying Companies, and Boston Best Large Companies to Work For. Explore our careers site to learn more about Cybereason’s company culture and open positions.