Duke Cyberwalker and Black Hat Bot

One of my favorite story structures is the hero’s journey. It’s a cool concept by Joseph Campbell that is often embedded in so many types of entertainment—from ancient myths to modern movies. It’s an interesting adventure blueprint where the hero starts off in their everyday life, gets pulled into a thrilling quest, faces a bunch of challenges, and usually comes out the other side transformed with some new skills or insights.

I often watch this journey come to life with Splunk users and learners. So, hang in there with me, but I wanted to show you what the hero’s journey might look like for one of our users using a parable for Splunk Education and Certification. 

Let's go on an adventure with Duke Cyberwalker—a distant cousin to Luke Skywalker, the lead character in "Star Wars: A New Hope." In our version, our Splunk Education protagonist has his own journey as he steps out of his comfort zone to take on Black Hat Bot. Duke Cyberwalker feels like just an ordinary guy, living an ordinary life — but thinks he could do so much more to help the world and mankind. If only he had some guidance — someone or something to help him with his confidence applying his cybersecurity skills in the real world. Here are the transformative stages of his hero’s journey: 

The Ordinary World: Duke begins his journey as a young, brilliant coder just out of college. He dreams of adventure but despite his potential, he struggles with self-doubt. 

The Call to Adventure: Duke’s life takes a turn when he is asked to help thwart a cyber attack at his mother’s mid-sized retail business. Although her company uses Splunk, it was attacked by Black Hat Bot, which is stealing company data, sending out false and alarming information, and creating an environment of distrust. She doesn’t have a cybersecurity expert on site to optimize the platform and disarm the bot. She looks to Duke for help.

Refusal of the Call: At first, Duke is hesitant to get involved because he doesn’t feel like he is qualified to take on Black Hat Bot. He has yet to put his cybersecurity skills to the test and hasn’t yet worked with Splunk. He does not feel confident enough to take on Black Hat Bot. 

Meeting the Mentor: Just as Duke decides to refuse the call to adventure, he meets Obi-Buttercup-Kenobi, who reveals her connection to Splunk, introduces him to the ways of the EDU Force, and shows him what he’s capable of with the right cybersecurity skills and training.

Crossing the First Threshold: With a newfound purpose, Duke decides to leave his ordinary life behind and agrees to join Obi-Buttercup-Kenobi on a cybersecurity learning journey to gain the knowledge he needs to help his mother wrestle control of the company back from Black Hat Bot. 

Tests and Challenges: Duke faces challenges like accessing STEP to enroll in an advanced cyber security curriculum and then deciding whether he’s better suited to take self-paced eLearning or Instructor-led virtual training. He has to learn how to navigate the data in the lab environment, and is tested each time he must prove his knowledge by passing the end-of-course quizzes. 

Ordeal: Barth is the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of his mother’s company and has always served as her most trusted advisor, but Duke has always questioned his integrity. Barth doesn’t want Duke involved, which increases his sense of mistrust. In a tense confrontation, Duke must prove to Barth that he has the right qualifications to be a Splunk administrator. He provides his Splunk Education transcripts, but this doesn’t satisfy Barth. This serves as a major setback and emotional low point for Duke.

The Comeback: Duke regains his resolve, remembers what he learned from Obi-Buttercup-Kenobi about how getting Splunk Certified is industry-recognized and strong validation of Splunk proficiency. So, Duke registers to get his Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Analyst and his Splunk Certified Cybersecurity Defense Engineer certifications. He passes these and now has the badges to present to Barth as proof that he is qualified to begin securing the company’s assets. 

The Road Back: Duke has grown and changed. With his Splunk industry-recognized certifications, Duke returns to show his mother and Barth that he now has what it takes to battle Black Hat Bot and get the company out of trouble. 

The Discovery: In the final confrontation, Duke is poised and confident to show Barth that he is fully qualified to use Splunk to uncover and protect the company against Black Hat Bot. But, there’s one more plot twist. Duke’s original suspicions are confirmed when he puts his User Behavior Analytics training to the test to prove that Barth is, in fact, Black Hat Bot. This is a critical moment of self-discovery and transformation for Duke who finally feels a sense of pride and redemption.

The Company is Saved: Duke uses Splunk to discover other insider threats, clean up the malware, and turn Black Hat Bot into the authorities. He is the hero not only in the eyes of his mother, but to the employees and customers of her company. He is also asked to lead a new cybersecurity initiative – a role he feels completely confident in taking on. He’s never felt so victorious. 

Please let me know what you think of Duke Cyberwalker’s hero’s journey and if you can relate to it!  Cheers to taking on your next challenge with Splunk Education.