Kalgi’s spending her summer interning at Costco in Seattle!

1. How hectic is your internship at Costco? Are you sleepless in Seattle yet?

Seattle is not New York. But, no, I am not having any sleepless nights, though my  internship does take up a lot of my hours from Monday-Friday and some weekends too. I have to stay updated and do a lot of reading with regard to project management.

2. Could you tell us (in brief) what you’re working on this summer? 

I am working as a PMO intern with Costco IT. I am placed directly under a program manager, so I assist him with all the projects that fall under him (around 9 projects). In addition, we are developing a new dashboard for project management tools, which I am responsible for. It is in its development phase right now but we will start testing it soon. Also I am responsible for coming up with a training manual for the project managers. 

3. The work you’re doing right now… do you think there’s a particular subject you took last semester that’s helping you now? Or a particular Professor who’s teachings deserve a shout out?

Umm, I was always interested in project management. But, the IT Project Management course offered was really helpful in getting to know the basics and helped me with the lingo.

4. What is the fun stuff you’ve done in Seattle? Any explorations, tips?

Seattle has beautiful wineries and a lot of water activities. So yeah, I’ve been pretty involved in all the grape crushing, blueberry and strawberry picking, para-sailing and jet-skiing. And of course, the first-ever Starbucks is worth a visit. There are a lot of hiking places around Seattle as it’s surrounded by mountains, the most beautiful being Mt. Rainer.

Kalgi Shah is a grad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in information systems. An avid traveler, Kalgi has visited more places in America in the last 8 months, than most people who’ve lived here all their lives!

 

Siobhan’s spending this summer working on some top secret stuff for Microsoft!

Siobhan Dunbar, Seidenberg 1. Who are you working with this summer? (…and what do they do?)

This summer, I am working at Microsoft Research as a student in the Microsoft Data Science Summer School (DS3). Though I cannot disclose details, Microsoft Research focuses on examining various data sets, especially in the realms of computational social science.

2. Can you tell us a little about what you are doing? (We might not understand the technicalities, but we’d love details!)

In our program, the first few weeks have been lectures and hands-on learning of various programming languages and utilities such as Python, Shell Coding, and R. For the rest of the program, I’ll be working on a team project. After forming prospective research questions, we’ll analyze data sets and develop conclusions to those questions. We’ll then show those results in interesting and coherent visual representations.

 3. Is there a particular class or professor at Seidenberg that has helped you prepare specifically for your current internship? (Clearly, we’re all about shout outs this summer!)

I would like to give a special shout out to Dr. Jonathan Hill and Stephanie Elson who have been a tremendous pillars of support to me throughout my time so far at Seidenberg, and who have also recommended me for this program. Thank you!

 4. Does your new office have a favorite restaurant/hangout they go to after work? (No! we’re not going to show up like proud parents!) 

Since the hours do go a bit late, and we have meals catered to the offices every week, a specific hangout spot has yet to be discovered. However, for those days when food is not provided, there are a variety of places around with good food if you ever need a break from the office.

Siobhan Wilmot-Dunbar is an undergrad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in computer science. She’s an honors student and a wicked pianist.

Artem’s on the right track with his summer internship at MTA, New York

Atem Karapetyan | Seidenberg1. Who are you working with this summer? (…and what do they do?)

I am working with Robert Prophet. He’s in charge of maintaining power and cooling in all data centers, as well as building new ones. I also work with Aneudy Lake, he is the head IT professional and he is a system analyst, he sets up workstations, fixes network issues and does installation of new machines. The last person I work with is John Rubino, he is the Sr.Project Manager for Security in the MTA, he is updating the security protocols of the MTA, whilst maintaining existing ones.

2. Can you tell us a little about what you are doing? (We might not understand the technicalities, but we’d love details!)

I go to different locations, whether it is Hennery Hudson or Verrazano Bridge Narrows or East New York; I go and inspect their data centers with my team. I install machines for new (permanent) employees. I get to deal with everyone from electricians to contractors to Sr. level project coordinators and get to see how each one of them affects the process of controlling a data center.

3. Is there a particular class or professor at Seidenberg that has helped you prepare specifically for your current internship? (Clearly, we’re all about shout outs this summer!)

Sadly I have not taken any IT or networking courses as of yet, so no teachers helped me get my experience when it comes to this particular job, but Kline, Freddy, Olga, and Hill have always supported me.

4. Does your new office have a favorite restaurant/hangout they go to after work? (No! we’re not going to show up like proud parents!)

We interns go where it is cheap, good, and filling. So, we go to Yips, 18 Beaver St New York, NY 10004.

Artem Karapetyan is an undergrad student at the Seidenberg School, majoring in computer science. He’s known to give quite the bear hug!

5 Things Grad Students Need To Keep In Mind For Fall 2014

Vaibhav_Seidenberg

Hi, my name is Vaibhav Dubey. I’m a second-semester graduate student at theSeidenberg School of CSIS, specializing in Information Systems. With a little bit of perseverance – and some great guidance by the faculty here – over the last semester I have worked as a student consultant for the Pace Computer Resource Center, a proctor at the Student Advising Center, and most recently, as a Student Assistant for the Seidenberg School’s social media team.

Of late, I have been getting a lot of questions, via Facebook, from incoming international graduate students inquiring about their experience ahead. These inquiries include and revolve around which specialization/major is the best, which subjects to take, where to stay, which scholarships are available, visa requirements, and the most urgent question – “Will I get a job soon?”  In attempts to relieve some stress I thought this would be this best way to reach out to everyone – with the top 5 things you need to keep in mind once you have arrived.

1. Picking the right program for you: A few months ago, I was just as overwhelmed as you probably are right now! But the surprising news is – it really doesn’t matter which subjects you start out with! One of the nice things about the Seidenberg School is that you can take any combination of IT/CS /IS subjects you want. Even if you get a little confused along the way, you’ve got some really helpful academic advisers waiting to help: Kimberly Brazaitis (kbrazaitis@pace.edu) and Stephanie (selson@pace.edu.) Thanks to their help and guidance I was able to take a few introductory classes last semester and was able to figure out what I was interested in, but more importantly, what I was good at!

2. Getting a job: According to the law the United States, international students are not legally allowed to work off-campus until they complete two full semesters of study (Fall & Spring). But you can start working on-campus from the day you arrive! Bookmark Pace University’s eRecruiting Site and check it frequently. I found all three of my on campus jobs there. Note: To set up your eRecruiting account just call your local Career Services office (New York City: 212-346-1950/ Pleasantville & White Plains: (914-773-3361). As for getting a full-time job after you graduate – well, with a Pace Seidenberg degree, you are sure likely to stand out in the IT industry.

3. Keep on your speed dial: The Office of Student Assistance (OSA) and the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO) are where you go for any and all you paperwork. Visa stamping, ID’s, official letters, social security forms, health insurance, tuition bills – EVERYTHING! Do not worry if you cannot find them, they will come to you. Expect at least 2 emails every day.

4. Scholarships: The Seidenberg School offers only merit-based scholarships to international students, and they are granted at the time of admission itself. What you should look out for is Graduate Assistantships (GA). A full G.A. can result in up to $12,000 worth of tuition!

5. Get socially involved on campus: Here at Pace University there are many opportunities to get involved and get connected with others. The Pace Indian Students Association, for example, is all about networking! PISA is a professional group of Indian students studying at Pace University. As an international student, I believe it is one of the best ways to make friends, interact with alumni, get leads on internships and find the only other people on campus willing to play cricket!

I hope this helps. In case you have any other questions, please feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer them.

See you all in September!

– Vaibhav Dubey

 

Are You Protecting Your Bank and Your Customers?

For the average banking customer, little attention is paid to the security aspect of public wireless networks at banks. Today’s users are so accustomed to attaching to free, public Wi-Fi services that they inherently trust that financial institutions are protecting their data and confidential information.

Prof_Gabberty_Seidenberg

However, that is not always true. Often times, financial institutions do not regularly monitor and update their routers which put their wireless networks at risk. As routers are the devices that handle network connectivity, they are susceptible to many of the same anomalies as tablets and personal computers, such as performing sluggishly, occasionally locking up, and much worse, becoming infected with malware. Just like their computer counterparts, routers are usually shipped with an operating system that has been installed by the manufacturer which needs to be occasionally refreshed with an updated version, begging the questions: “how often do banks actually perform this upgrade?” The answer, simply put, is that while some do, others don’t. Why is this so?

Professor James W. Gabberty

One of the primary reasons that financial institutions are loathe to update their routers’ operating systems has to do with the sheer number of routers deployed by mid- and large-sized banks and the common sense notion that when one router is updated, all the rest must likewise be updated, which requires substantial planning and attention to detail (not to mention significant time and money).  While upgrading routers periodically is certainly a nuisance, not performing them en masse would be akin to individual users running disparate versions of the Microsoft operating system and office suites within a company – a seriously problematic proposition since the number of security vulnerabilities would skyrocket.

Many banks also simply don’t have an accurate, updated list of all the routers in their organization, not to mention each router’s individual IOS level and almost certainly, its configuration. Asset management has long been a problem for all companies and banks are no exception. Corporate policy is frequently bypassed and end-users often connect their own devices (USBs, smartphones, and even routers) into the corporate backbone. While there are security awareness techniques designed to stem the rush of employees connecting non-corporate devices to the company’s IT infrastructure, insider activity is still the number one vector of information security breaches within all corporations. Moreover, since keeping track of all infrastructure equipment is a monumental task – especially since proper change management policies are often by-passed, many firms don’t perform as good a measure of due diligence in terms of patching routers as they should.

Still another reason why router upgrades are problematic for financial institutions is tied to the configuration that many routers have been specifically tuned, or set at. Internet-facing ports are a time-tested invitation for exploitation from outside the firm and significant time and effort must be expended to ensure that these ports are all closed while simultaneously enabling only those ports that are critical for the firm to operate. Each time a router is updated, the configuration is lost and must be set again to match corporate policy guidelines; failure to reset the proper configuration causes vulnerabilities inside the firm to reappear.

Understanding some reasons why financial institutions do not invest the proper time needed for router software updates, here are some simple questions for IT security management to simplify the process and ensure protection for wireless networks: (1) Do you have a list of all routers in your organization, the IOS level and the configuration? (2) Have you validated the authenticity of the vendor you purchased your routers from? (3) When was the last time you checked your routers’ configuration and does it match policy? (4) Have you checked that it hasn’t been modified on a daily or weekly basis? (5) Are you logging improper events and staying vigilant? (6) Are you continuously making sure that there are no open ports facing the internet?

Due diligence on the part of maintaining your bank’s many routers can go a long way in ensuring that your customers – and their trust – remain loyal.

Gabberty is a professor of information systems at Pace University in New York City. An alumnus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and New York University Polytechnic Institute, he has served as an expert witness in telecommunication and information security at the federal and state levels and holds numerous certifications from SANS & ISACA.

Note: This article first appeared on Banking.com on June 26th, 2014.

India gets a new prime minister …aaand a NEW PRESIDENT?

Not to take anything away from Mr. Modi, but this celebration’s a little closer to the heart!

Congratulations to our very own Seidenberg grad student – Arbaaz Sayyed, on being elected the new President of the Pace Indian Students Association (PISA).

We were lucky enough to spend some time with him before he headed off to India for the summer – one heck of a victory lap and some serious planning for PISA! Here’s what we found out.

Arbaaz Sayyed, President, PISA
Arbaaz Sayyed, President, PISA

Q. Pick 5 words that describe you the best.

A. Leader. Perfectionist. Experienced. Sociable. Um, modest? (…he said with a wide grin)

Q. What makes you qualified for this role?

A. Within the last 8 years, I’ve been a Committee Member, an Organizational Secretary, and a Chairperson. I’ve even coordinated activities for the IEEE in India .It becomes a-lot more fun when you love what you do. My first job at Pace was with SDACA. We did some great work for the student body.

Q. Tell us about PISA.

A. PISA is a cultural, professional and social association made up primarily of Indian students at Pace. Up until last year it was purely for Lubin students, but now it’s open to everyone. One of our main focuses this year will be to better connect with all the incoming international students so that we can offer them a better experience at Pace. I’d also like to slowly grow the work PISA does and collaborate with other existing associations & clubs at the university, so as to provide a more holistic member experience.

Q. What will your first move be?

A. Right now, our agenda is to plan and execute events for humanitarian causes, professional development workshops and networking opportunities for students.

Q. How can one join PISA?
A. Just walk into one of our meetings. It’s that simple! You can even email me at as07113n@pace.edu or call me on 646-492-8590. 

“It’s a proud moment,” says Dean Amar Gupta of The Seidenberg School of Computer Science & Information Systems.

Dean Amar Gupta

“The Pace Indian Students Association (PISA) originally started as the PISA Graduate Student Organization at the Lubin School. During recent months, its scope was widened to include Seidenberg, and we are honored that Arbaaz Sayyed from our school has been elected as its President. With his interest in Leadership activities and his diverse background, Arbaaz is ideally suited to lead this organization. My hope is that the scope of the activities and the membership will continue to grow under his leadership.”

                            

– Interviewed by Suhail Bhandari

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