For the next edition of our “Intel in 5” blog series, we spoke to our Intelligence Analyst, Sophie, about how she unexpectedly landed in intelligence, and why it is still where she wants to be over ten years later.
What does a typical day look like for you?
No two days are the same, but they all share the common threads of research, information gathering and analysis. I spend a large part of my time monitoring and interpreting developments such as breaking news, protests or security incidents. It’s my job to turn that information into clear, unbiased, and actionable intelligence for our clients.
I am often exploring new topics and quickly building an understanding of new subjects before forming balanced and accurate assessments. Our work requires adaptability – I also work to the client’s needs and timeframes. Sometimes I’ll get two months to finish a piece of work, or a client could have an event coming up in a week and require a quick turnaround report.
I’m constantly learning and adapting, and it’s one of the reasons I love being an analyst so much.
What first drew you to intelligence or security work?
It wasn’t actually something I set out to do. I was applying to join the military over 10 years ago, and I was initially looking into an HR role, but the careers advisor suggested I look into intelligence after I scored well in the aptitude test. I hadn’t thought about it before, so I was a bit nervous about the thought of going out on the battlefield. Nevertheless, I decided to just go for it and see how it went.
My role in the army changed every few years, and I was even one of 14 analysts chosen to help set up the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC) during COVID-19. That was an especially important moment because the JBC provided evidence-based analysis, assessment and advice to inform local and national decision-making in response to COVID-19 outbreaks.
After over six years in the Regular army, I moved to the private sector and then joined Corps a few years later in 2025. I like the values of Corps and the fact that it’s a social enterprise, so its profits support colleagues and charity partners, rather than shareholders. The Corps Veterans Association appealed to me especially, and the organisation just aligns with my core workplace and daily life values. I felt it was important for me to work here.
What is the most misunderstood part of your job?
I agree with my colleague, Nick, that one of the biggest misconceptions of intelligence is that it’s just quick or automated. You can’t just press a button, and all the information appears. Sometimes we’re even asked to have a quick look at something, but that’s not how intelligence works. Our expertise relies on in-depth research, critical thinking, and context building.
We also need to ensure that we’re not being biased, assessing multiple sources and viewpoints to make sure we understand the bigger picture. Intelligence cannot favour any side, even if you’re writing about a topic you may not be comfortable with, because your work needs to be careful and methodical. There is no instant result, which I think people can sometimes assume.
What’s a recent trend or technological development you’re watching closely?
LLMs have evolved remarkably in such a short space of time. I use a variety of them in my daily work, because I think they’re fantastic. They can be extremely valuable for researching, drafting and reducing time on manual tasks so we can support our clients in a greater capacity than before.
But they need to be used alongside an analyst, and by someone who knows which LLMs to use and how to use them effectively. It’s important not to rely too heavily on them and make sure they’re offering relevant and truthful results.
In our line of work, we also need to be aware of deepfakes and fake news and understand how they impact our clients. It’s ever-evolving, and it’s something we need to stay on top of to support our clients.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
This is a really difficult question to answer. I suppose people might be surprised about how much I genuinely love my job. I love digging into information and piecing things together. One of my favourite parts of the job is informing people how to be more secure, to prioritise their own safety.
At times, that can mean analysing their social media and personal life (with their knowledge!) and presenting them with a report on how vulnerable they are online.
If an innocent person like me has found important information, what about a threat actor? Driving the safety of other people is fundamental to the job. I genuinely love being an analyst, and I don’t think I’ll ever be anything else.
If you are interested in exploring our security intelligence and consultancy solutions, read more and get in touch with our team.
