Name: Bianca Monge

Internship, Co-op or Research Site: Leidos

Position Title: Cybersecurity Analyst Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s): Information Systems

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term: Summer 2019

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.

During my internship, I worked within the Cyber & SIGINT department of the Intel group as a Cybersecurity Analyst Intern. My project over the summer was to research a product pitched to our company that would be able to prevent software memory corruption attacks. My team and I researched, analyzed, and tested the product to document its effectiveness and faults. Not only did we test its functionality as a cyber hardening product, but we also looked at if and how it could be misused in the wrong hands. The areas of cybersecurity that my day-to-day responsibilities entailed were buffer overflow attacks, reverse engineering, binary analysis, vulnerability/exploit testing, and malware analysis.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I found the internship position listing on Glassdoor, which linked me to the Leidos website in October of last year. I was contacted shortly after applying to come in for an interview, and not long after that I was told that I got the internship.

Although I found and obtained my position outside of UMBC, I would highly recommend going to the Career Fair and attending recruiter workshops to get your name and face out there. I did, and it definitely gave me a chance to practice interviews and become more comfortable interacting with recruiters. 

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization? 

The people and work that I get to do. The people I met were all so intelligent and had so much knowledge, experience, and advice to share. I felt like I always learned something new by saying hi to someone new everyday. Having that great environment around me, and finally getting the chance to do real work in the field I love, was a dream come true.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

The documentation of all the research my team and I did on the product was actually going to be sent to higher ups in order to help them make their final decision on whether or not Leidos should use the product within their systems and/or relay the product to Leidos customers.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

Take advantage of the Career Fair and technical/recruiter workshops. Even if you do not get any responses back, it is networking experience to prepare for the day when you do land that interview.

During interviews, don't shy away from telling the interviewer what you aren't the most well-versed in. It's important for both you and them so that they place you in a position they think you'll enjoy and be good at. Also, if you're passionate about a certain subject, express it!

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