commonvision will be closed December 23 – January 6 for the winter break and for additional maintenance time. We will reopen with our winter hours Monday, January 9.
Our winter hours will be: Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. through January 27.
For all questions and print inquiries please email commonvision@umbc.edu
]]>Name: Alex Lloyd
Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: General Dynamics Mission Systems
Position Title: Software Engineering Intern
Major or Program: Computer Science, B.S.
Current Class Level: Senior
Work Term: Summer 2022
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
Researching & beginning the search for network vulnerabilities in Hue Bridge smart lightbulb devices. First month centered around researching known vulnerabilities, functionality, & reproducing a hardware hack so that we could analyze the file system. Included analyzing its binaries in Ghidra.
Second month centered around scanning vulnerable ports & using our knowledge of the file system, remote control of the device, & online resources to identify which process operated on each port. Identifying a given process on a vulnerable port, we then focused our analysis of that particular binary & identified where it decrypts information. I was the first to capture packets destined for that port & the first to extract decrypted data from memory using a cross-compiled server on the device itself.
I then split the internship team in half to pursue two potentially viable methods of fuzzing - AFL++'s Unicorn mode & QEMU mode - with myself leading the QEMU team & another UMBC student intern leading the Unicorn team. My team was again the first to begin fuzzing properly, using my captured packets as an input corpus. Fuzzing is important as it spams certain binaries with variations of data until a crash occurs & a vulnerability can be found & exploited.
I then helped my fellow interns to compile & deliver a presentation of our findings & next steps for this project.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
I applied via LinkedIn in Fall 2021, had an interview in Spring 2022, & landed the internship to start at the beginning of June 2022. I found the position via LinkedIn's weekly notifications for jobs fitting my specifications.
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
Working in an Ubuntu VM, which introduced me to Linux & the use of apt package management, & inspired me to install Linux on my T2 security chip'd MacBook, using a modified kernel I found online to work with the unsupported hardware. I now have Windows, macOS, & Zorin OS triple boot on my MacBook & am using Linux more regularly as a casual operating system.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I am dead certain I made an impact, because I was asked to stay on & extend my internship into the Fall semester, where I am building on the work my team created during the summer semester. Currently, we are working on increasing the speed of the fuzzing process.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Quantity is king. Obviously, if you are fortunate enough to have an "in" for a given organization (insider knowledge), then certainly exploit that advantage as much as you are able, but in my case &, I imagine, for most folks early in their careers, you won't have that. You have to go through the application & interview process. Therefore, you are going to be one among many applying for each opportunity, so the way you get ahead is by trying everything. Spam as many applications as possible to opportunities that fit your skillset, taking care to cater your résumé &/or cover letter to the most promising opportunities, & simply keep at it. My approach was to apply to three different opportunities every week for the entirety of the Fall semester in 2021, & it's from this approach that I landed my internship. Of countless applications, I landed only three interviews, & only succeeded at the final one with General Dynamics.
In addition, take advantage of avenues that I did not, such as career fairs & the advice of the career center, & if all else fails, pursue projects or research opportunities within academia. If you prioritize quantity, & get your résumé out to every single one of these areas, & persist, then you cannot fail.
My final piece of advice: know your core classes. For student internships, perhaps the best places to apply, in every interview they will ask about simple, fundamental concepts in your major. If you have succeeded in your classes, you will be able to answer these questions & land your internship.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.
I get paid to hack lightbulbs. Believe-you-me, there is a job for everyone.
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Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday! ]]>Un. of Chicago Summer Research Opportunity in Economics
Stipend, Housing, Travel Expenses & Meal Plan- Deadline to Apply Tuesday, 1/10/23
In special partnership with The Leadership Alliance,
the University of Chicago will select up to three current UMBC
undergraduates for an amazing research internship in economics. The
program is designed for undergraduate students with strong quantitative
and analytical backgrounds of ALL majors. This nine-week residential
program exposes students to three program components: research,
mentorship, and graduate school preparation.
DEADLINE TO APPLY: Tuesday, January 10, 2023 (by 9am)
PROGRAM COMPONENTS include:
Research Mentors: Students
will be matched with a faculty/research mentor. Students can learn more
about research opportunity offerings by looking at faculty research profiles. All students participating in the summer session will also be guided by advisers outside of the laboratory environment.
Activities: Students
are expected to spend a minimum of 40 hours/week conducting research
and working with faculty/research mentors. In addition, students will
participate in several program activities that will allow them to
interact with other members of the academic community and summer
research programs at the University of Chicago:
Weekly Workshops/Panel Discussions: Workshops
on how to navigate the academy, including topics like getting the
mentoring you need, self-care and community, communicating your
research, the graduate admissions process, preparing grad applications,
fellowships and funding opportunities, and study abroad.
Library
or Facility tours: Participants will be acquainted with the shared
library, research, and laboratory facilities as it pertains to their
research placement.
University of Chicago Research Symposium: Near
the end of the nine-week summer session, participants will give oral
presentations of their work to fellow participants, faculty mentors, and
research associates in a symposium on campus.
The Leadership Alliance National Research Symposium: Participants
will travel to attend the national meeting of the Leadership Alliance
to present their work and to network with other SR-EIP participants from
different institutions, faculty/research mentors, and Leadership
Alliance members and directors.
Recreational Activities: Social
activities organized to acquaint participants with life on the
University of Chicago campus and in the city of Chicago at large.
Program Dates:
Monday, June 12, 2023 through Saturday, August 12, 2023 (9 weeks)
STIPEND AND ADDITIONAL SUPPORT:
-
Housing: Participants will be offered room and board in an
air-conditioned student dormitory residence located in the center of
campus near several amenities, including a new state-of-the-art athletic
facility.
- Participating students
are eligible for reimbursement of approved expenses associated with
round-trip travel to the University of Chicago from the student’s home
city.
- Stipend & Meals:
Participants will be offered a $5,000 stipend plus a $550 meal plan.
Participating students will be given a dining card for the purchase of
meals at the University dining facilities.
Dear UMBC Community,
It is my pleasure to let you know that Governor Hogan's declaration of Friday, December 23, 2022, as a state holiday applies to UMBC.
Therefore, UMBC will be closed December 23, 2022 -- January 2, 2023, and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. December 23 will be designated as a holiday on time sheets. Employees required to work on December 23 will have 12 months to use the holiday.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for everything you do for our community. I hope you find time for fun, rest, and relaxation during the winter break, and I look forward to seeing you in 2023.
Kathy L. Dettloff, Vice President for Administration and Finance
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