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Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

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Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#61

Post by est31 »

ApicalDendrite wrote: post #9

This person is very clearly mixing things that he knows directly, things that he's read about in books (e.g. Amazon's strategy in the early days), and rumors that he's heard (e.g. Jeff Bezos' personal life). There's no way that a cybersecurity engineer at a company as sprawling as Amazon has reliable firsthand knowledge on so many different unrelated topics. The writer is a faculty associate at the Berkman Klein Cent…

Maybe it's an interview of Bezos himself? It's written a lot like from someone's point of view who a) knows the early history b) is familiar with current daily business (like covid) c) is familiar with how different factions inside the company were years ago. If you look at the company from a global perspective but still from the inside, there are only few people around who can write such an interview.

Caesar wrote his books in the third person as well. Bezos seems to me like the kind of guy who'd do that.

Also I'm not too familiar with how Bezos writes, but from the few interviews of him that I've heard, it sounds a lot like him to me. See also this letter... guess the author :). https://twitter.com/LettersOfNote/status/923473337115914240

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#62

Post by amursft »

ApicalDendrite wrote: post #28
bosswipe wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Giving the benefit of the doubt, he sounds like an experienced senior guy so he's surely plugged in to internal communications, discussions, and rumors. And a lot of times in security there are opportunities to work with a large cross-section of teams.

I've worked with engineers at Amazon up to the senior principal level. Even if you grant that people in cybersecurity see a broader swath of the company, there's just no way that he can talk authoritatively about everything from AWS sales tactics, to hiring practices for former DoD procurement people, to real estate strategy to Amazon's own supply chain, to Jeff B.'s personal life. It would be like a mid-level employ…

They're clearly putting on an air of authoritativeness, but yeah exactly. I read this more like a very extended Glassdoor review. You're getting one person's perspective. Interesting interview, big grain of salt.

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#63

Post by jsolson »

antonvs wrote: post #55
iameli wrote: post #20

Kind of tangential, but > If you're working in Seattle for Amazon and you're good at your job and you want to leave your job tomorrow, you have far fewer opportunities. Where are you going to go, Microsoft? There's not nearly as much mobility. So I think a big part of the reason we have less organizing [than Google] is that people are more afraid to jeopardize their jobs. If you want to stay in the Northwest, you kee…

People with the FAANG mindset have only five preferred employers, and only one of them is in Seattle.

I'd add Microsoft and drop Facebook, personally, but... yeah, the first part is kinda fair. That said, the second part is wrong. It was no trouble at all to jump from Amazon to Google Seattle when I felt the time was right. My desk at the office (if you remember offices from the pre-pandemic days) is less than two blocks from my original desk at Amazon.

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#64

Post by PristineTomato3 »

I would not be surprised if this was a PR piece. However, as an AWS SDE, a lot of this felt incredibly accurate - especially the parts about company culture and employee attitudes. I can count on one hand the amount of non-work related, non-small talk conversations that I've had.

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#65

Post by Throwaway1771 »

PradeetPatel wrote: post #47
bob1029 wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This absolutely has to be a PR piece, or one filtered through a marketing layer of some sort. The only thing that threw me for a loop are the negative points, but this could just be a clever ploy to further the deception. The company we pay to do marketing has all kinds of ridiculous tricks they propose, so I wouldn't be surprised if this is a thing.

Speaking as someone who worked in the PR sector. This reads like an article crafted to influence public opinion by polish the truthful elements while downplaying their flaws. It's been established that "selective whistleblowing" articles are deemed to be more trustworthy than official marketing statements. Therefore, it would be foolish for corporates to not exploit that to their advantage.

Or moral.

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#66

Post by Throwaway1771 »

cheaprentalyeti wrote: post #16
vsareto wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This person is almost certainly not that intimately familiar with Jeff's private life. Take this with a grain of salt.

It's also the first thing I've read here in six months that's made me laugh.

Read more comments.

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#67

Post by DharmaPolice »

lemonspat wrote: post #44

> The second-largest private employer in the United States after Walmart Neither company is private. They’re both public companies. This is the second sentence in the article. The rest of it sounds made up

Private as in private sector.

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#68

Post by corobo »

whoknew1122 wrote: post #45
corobo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a massive off vibe for me in things like > So if you have cancer and you might die from your cancer, we won't help you get treatment It just feels.. off. I wouldn't go as far to say the person doesn't work at Amazon at all and instead wants to jab at them but I'm definitely thinking it loudly

The point was regarding fulfillment center workers who don't work enough hours to get company healthcare. That is how it's handled. If you get cancer or any other major medical catastrophe, Amazon won't do anything to you if you're a part time worker without health insurance. But even if you don't have the health insurance, Amazon will provide support if you catch COVID. Because it's good business to not have one uni…

Aye but it's more that it was mentioned at all rather than whether it's true or not

With the exception of it being a whistleblowing thing you don't often see jabs like that -- especially jabs at departments the person has no involvement with. Also if it is whistleblowing it's more a "they" than a "we" thing

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#69

Post by corobo »

ApicalDendrite wrote: post #23
corobo wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a massive off vibe for me in things like > So if you have cancer and you might die from your cancer, we won't help you get treatment It just feels.. off. I wouldn't go as far to say the person doesn't work at Amazon at all and instead wants to jab at them but I'm definitely thinking it loudly

To me it feels like someone was kind of bullshitting with their friends and maybe making themselves seem more knowledgeable and important than they really are. It's totally irresponsible to put it in print.

This is the more likely answer, good shout

Re: Interview with an anonymous AWS cybersecurity engineer

#70

Post by simonebrunozzi »

I used to work for AWS (2008-2014).

There are things I am not comfortable disclosing in public; however, I can tell you that most of what's written is incorrect, guesswork, or distorted from reality - e.g. the "origin" of Amazon, or the origin of AWS.

I've read enough to know that this piece is not worth reading in its entirety.

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