The passion that drives STARK is, like so many things in life, a wonderful mix...

Cybersecurity has been a passion and focus for the past ten years. The intellectual challenge to understand hackers and try to outsmart them, combined with the speed at which this narrative is written and rewritten, is absolutely unique as far as I can tell.
That intellectual pursuit and the possibility to help society is – in a nutshell – energising.

Where does awareness originate?
When you succeed in conveying something complex in a simple way and see the light bulb of understanding above someone’s head when they comprehend what you are explaining. When you get the sense that you have effectively helped people with your knowledge. I don’t know of any better way to elicit appreciation.
It goes without saying that the techniques used in cybersecurity are admirable.
Both, unfortunately, this goes both ways since, although ethically deplorable, it is quite a technical feat by hackers to develop malicious software and hardware. Fortunately, security companies on the legal side of the battle are equally as impressive in their accomplishments.
So, even though the technology behind cybersecurity is awe-inspiring, pending highly advanced artificial intelligence, I’ll take the appreciation of a human over that of a machine any day.

Video is a decades-long hobby.
I’ve always been a fan of moving images. Although I never used it professionally in the past, I’ve always found this medium to be fascinating.
It also enables me to combine several of my passions.
An animation film can even turn a technical (and, for some, boring) topic into an interesting narrative. You can convey a whole lot of information in a very short period of time. And, of course, it’s perfect for including a dash of humour.

Humour is a powerful tool.
It makes life a little more enjoyable and provides that perfect little extra touch that gets the message across EVEN better in a presentation or film.
Such humour also played a role in the choice of the ‘STARK’ company name.
For many people, STARK brings to mind Tony Stark, better known as ‘ Iron Man’.
A superhero who takes on the bad guys.
And, no, I do not consider myself a superhero, but if I can help people through STARK to protect themselves from the illegal actions of criminals, then I’ve done my job right.
STARK is also the name of a character in the comic books series ‘The Bluecoats’,
a captain in the cavalry who always wants to charge the enemy, even when that enemy is much stronger and bigger than him.
Perhaps there’s more than meets the eye....
An illustrated story, humour and a superhero.
What better weapons to take on hackers?

Bert Bleukx