Merlin Stottmeister.
“On my way to work in the morning, I have no idea what my day will hold,” says Merlin, his eyes lighting up. The 26-year-old loves an adventure and is always open for new things. He spends his free time jumping out of planes with a parachute strapped to his back or bungee jumping and in his day job, the tougher the project the better. Particularly those that crop up unexpectedly and demand immediate action.
Everything Merlin does is with the aim of raising awareness of IT security amongst customers and colleagues by holding presentations about the darknet, hacking courses for IT administrators and carrying out darknet scans to uncover leaked corporate information and vulnerabilities. The goal? To prevent irreparable damage to companies. “We once carried out a darknet scan and discovered a way to directly access a customer’s security system for sale for $10,” explains Merlin.
A thriving network of 500 security experts.
The Solingen data protection and data security team consists of nine people and is part of the 500-strong community of security engineers and consultants at 80+ Bechtle sites across DACH. “We can very quickly put together a team that spans locations to suit our customers’ needs,” says Merlin. “I’m also in regular contact with colleagues in other cities and countries. This way we can share information and remain right up-to-date on what’s happening in the security world.”
We can very quickly put together a team that spans locations to suit our customers’ needs.
Merlin Stottmeister
Merlin was catapulted into the spotlight thanks to the award he received at the Federal Office for Information Security’s (BSI) IT Security Congress in 2023. Winning Silver in the Best Student category was the icing on the cake of finishing his Master’s thesis on the development of a threat intelligence application in collaboration with Bechtle, for which he’d laid the groundwork during his time as a working student.
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“On my way to work in the morning, I have no idea what my day will hold,” says Merlin, his eyes lighting up. The 26-year-old loves an adventure and is always open for new things. He spends his free time jumping out of planes with a parachute strapped to his back or bungee jumping and in his day job, the tougher the project the better. Particularly those that crop up unexpectedly and demand immediate action.
Everything Merlin does is with the aim of raising awareness of IT security amongst customers and colleagues by holding presentations about the darknet, hacking courses for IT administrators and carrying out darknet scans to uncover leaked corporate information and vulnerabilities. The goal? To prevent irreparable damage to companies. “We once carried out a darknet scan and discovered a way to directly access a customer’s security system for sale for $10,” explains Merlin.
A thriving network of 500 security experts.
The Solingen data protection and data security team consists of nine people and is part of the 500-strong community of security engineers and consultants at 80+ Bechtle sites across DACH. “We can very quickly put together a team that spans locations to suit our customers’ needs,” says Merlin. “I’m also in regular contact with colleagues in other cities and countries. This way we can share information and remain right up-to-date on what’s happening in the security world.”
We can very quickly put together a team that spans locations to suit our customers’ needs.
Merlin Stottmeister
Merlin was catapulted into the spotlight thanks to the award he received at the Federal Office for Information Security’s (BSI) IT Security Congress in 2023. Winning Silver in the Best Student category was the icing on the cake of finishing his Master’s thesis on the development of a threat intelligence application in collaboration with Bechtle, for which he’d laid the groundwork during his time as a working student.
“I don’t want to work on something that will eventually end up being shelved.”
It’s around three years since he first heard about the project during a job interview to become a student in the field of business information systems at Bechtle and said: “You can count me in on one condition. I don’t want to work on something that will eventually end up being shelved.” Today, he is the go to for well-known customers ranging from suppliers to the automotive industry to critical infrastructure companies. “It’s fantastic and I feel really proud,” says Merlin.
Designing something himself, programming code and understanding computers from the ground up—even at a young age, these were the things that drew his attention. The 26-year-old is sure the future holds many more intriguing projects. “The security world is ever-changing so it’s never boring,” he says. The adventure continues at Bechtle.
