State Farm·Software Engineer·Technical Phone Screen·Intermediate

Intermediate

Apr 2026

Summary

Interviewed for a security analyst role at State Farm. Pretty short on details but they asked about threat actor knowledge, which is pretty standard for this kind of role.

Questions Asked (1)

Which threat actors are you familiar with, and what do you know about them?

Root Cause AnalysisTechnical Trade-offs

Author's notes

Blanked a little on how deep to go.

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Suggested Approach

Select 2-3 well-known threat actor groups (e.g., APT29, Lazarus Group, FIN7) and for each, describe their typical targets, motivations, and TTPs. Then connect this knowledge to how it informs secure software design, threat modeling, and root cause analysis in your role as a software engineer at State Farm.

Pro tip: Emphasize how understanding threat actors directly influences your engineering decisions—such as prioritizing input validation against known TTPs or using threat intelligence to drive security requirements—rather than just listing facts. This shows you think like a security-minded engineer, not just a trivia buff.

1. Select relevant threat actors

Choose 2-3 threat actor groups that are well-documented and relevant to the financial/insurance sector, such as APT29 (Cozy Bear), Lazarus Group, or FIN7. Avoid obscure groups unless you can speak about them confidently.

2. Describe each actor's profile

For each actor, briefly cover their attribution (e.g., nation-state, criminal), primary motivations (espionage, financial gain), and typical targets (e.g., financial institutions, government).

3. Explain their TTPs

Detail 1-2 notable tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) for each actor, such as phishing, supply chain compromise, or use of custom malware. This demonstrates technical depth.

4. Connect to software engineering

Explain how this knowledge influences your work: e.g., threat modeling, secure coding practices, or incident response. Relate to root cause analysis by discussing how understanding attacker methods helps identify vulnerabilities.

5. Tie to State Farm context

Mention how these threats could impact State Farm and what you would do to mitigate them, showing alignment with the company's security posture and your role.

Key Points to Mention

APT29 (Cozy Bear): Russian state-sponsored, targets government and financial sectors, uses supply chain attacks and stealthy persistence.
Lazarus Group: North Korean state-sponsored, financially motivated, known for destructive attacks and cryptocurrency theft.
FIN7: Financially motivated cybercriminal group, targets point-of-sale systems and uses sophisticated phishing.
TTPs: phishing, credential dumping, lateral movement, and custom malware.
Threat modeling frameworks like STRIDE or MITRE ATT&CK.
Root cause analysis: using threat intelligence to identify and remediate vulnerabilities in software.

AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.