Dr. Achim Botzenhardt

Experienced cyber security professional with a passion for offensive and defensive security ⚔️ 🛡️

Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

About

Cyber Security Professional | Offensive Security | GRC & Third-Party Risk From governance to attack surface — I have built a career understanding how organisations are exposed to cyber risk, and I now operate on the technical front line to validate and challenge those exposures in practice. In my current role as an Offensive Security Operator, I conduct ethical hacking engagements with an offense-for-defense mindset: simulating realistic attack scenarios to uncover vulnerabilities before threat actors can exploit them, and translating findings into mitigations that strengthen organisational resilience. What sets my approach apart is the combination of a deep passion for the technical, hands-on side of security with a solid foundation in IT auditing, governance, risk management, and compliance (GRC), as well as Supply Chain and Third-Party Cyber Risk Management. This allows me to assess findings not only on their technical severity, but also in the context of business impact, regulatory relevance, and broader risk posture — and to communicate them in a way that drives meaningful remediation across both technical and management stakeholders. Committed to continuous learning, I stay closely engaged with emerging threats, new attack vectors, and the evolving threat landscape to keep my technical capabilities and risk perspective equally sharp.

Experience

  • RWE (Full-time · 5 yrs 3 mos)
    • Offensive Security Operator (CSIRT)
      Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

    • Cyber Security Manager
      Aug 2022 - Mar 2026 · 3 yrs 8 mos

      Focus on Supply Chain Security and Third Party Cyber Risk Management

    • Senior IT Auditor
      Apr 2021 - Aug 2022 · 1 yr 5 mos

      Focus on Cyber Security Audits

  • ERGO Group AG (Greater Dusseldorf Area)
    • IT Auditor
      Feb 2018 - Mar 2021 · 3 yrs 2 mos

      Focus on Cyber Security Audits

    • IT Project Manager
      Nov 2016 - Jan 2018 · 1 yr 3 mos

      Transformation of Service Delivery Management

    • Executive Assistant to the Group CIO
      Jul 2014 - Oct 2016 · 2 yrs 4 mos

  • Research and Teaching Assistant, PhD Student at University of Mannheim
    Sep 2009 - Jun 2014 · 4 yrs 10 mos