Jéssica Carreño Fernández: 

Jess lives in Spain and has been working as a Software Developer at RazorSecure for 7 years.

Q: What has surprised you most about working at RazorSecure?

A: How quickly we’ve grown as a company! I’ve seen RazorSecure go from just a two-person operation, to upwards of fifty, in what feels like a blink of an eye. And as we’ve grown, so has our portfolio of products and solutions, and with that, our customer base, which has seen our products scale up to thousands of assets over a short duration. In 2024, over 3200 rail cars in operational service globally are deployed with our solutions.

Q: Do you have any advice for aspiring software developers interested in working in the field of rail cyber security?

A: Working in cyber security requires continuous learning. The threat landscape is ever evolving and increasing in sophistication, and keeping your knowledge up-to-date requires an eagerness to constantly stay ahead of malicious actors and new threat trends. Rail cyber security requires another level of dedication, as we are tasked with working with legacy trains and systems in an industry that still requires further awareness and investment. My advice would be to do your research, learn as much as possible, and to be prepared for a career that is constantly moving, demanding your skill set to also adapt with it.

Q: Can you describe how RazorSecure fosters an inclusive environment for a diverse range of skills and perspectives?

A: Our team is made up of diverse, open-minded people who collaborate brilliantly due to the respect we each have for one another. We each have different hobbies and quirks, and these all seem to gel so well together. Even though we’re now more than fifty people all dotted around different parts of the globe, with different roles and varying levels of pressure and responsibility, everyone is approachable, working together seamlessly - it just works!

Q: What's the most surprising or unexpected vulnerability you've encountered in the rail industry, and how did you approach mitigating it? 

A: I would say it’s when you have to deal with old operating systems from the last century. Because they lack up-to-date security patches etc, there’s a significant increase in vulnerabilities, together with issues around configuration when integrating new software and hardware. Although there’s not much we can do in terms of mitigating the issue, we can offer guidance by explaining the increased risk due to these  gaps in security controls and offer solutions to bring their systems up-to-date.

Q: If you could code any superpower for yourself, what would it be and why?

A: I would code the ability to teleport, as this would save me a fortune in plane tickets, not to mention time, and eliminate the hassle of airports!