Statement of Purpose

Swati Singh
for MS in Information Security/Computer Security/Cyber Security
for Autumn Semester 2020

My graduation in Information Technology made me aware of the advances in rapidly growing my

graduation in Information Technology made me aware of the advances in rapidly growing security
threats. The cyber security landscape is changing by the day and getting more complex. To meet
this challenge, India needs over five lakh security engineers. Engineering continues to be an
attractive profession with thousands of young students aspiring to join this field of study. Within the
many streams available, one of the most needed requirements today is in the area of security, even as
the Internet, mobility and technology trends such as cloud computing continue to transform the way
individuals and businesses interact with one another digitally. With just over 580,000 engineers
graduating every year (Nasscom study), India now faces an urgent need to develop skills, prepare and
arm itself in the area of cyber defence. The need for technically proficient individuals becomes more
relevant as innovation in the digital world happens much faster than the physical world. To
understand the role of a security engineer, it is important to take a step back and review the security
threat landscape. Even as the motivation of cyber attackers has moved from fame to financial gain,
malware has become a successful criminal business model with billions of dollars in play. While the
volumes of threats are growing exponentially, they are also becoming more sophisticated: we
are now in the third significant shift in the threat landscape — one of cyber-espionage and
cyber-sabotage. People say “security is a matter of constant education”. Most importantly, integrity
is very important to a cyber-security expert. Businesses, governments and consumers are relying on
these individuals to secure themselves and their information, and it is important that they demonstrate
and hold their trust. It is because of this fascination that I intend to pursue an MS degree in
Cyber security/information security/computer security and become a cyber-warrior.

I stepped into the graduate studies in a prestigious and a top notch university Dr APJ Abdul Kalam
Technical University. I maintained a good academic record, scoring 8 CGPA and graduated with
First Class with Distinction. As an undergraduate student, I was introduced to a wide variety of
courses like Microprocessors and Computer Organization helped me in understanding the physical
framework on which this field is structured. Operating Systems, System Software and LINUX made
me realize the importance of platforms which programming languages such as C and C++ exploit, but
subjects that interested me the most were Data Structures, Algorithms, Operating Systems and all the
Networking subjects like Data Communication, information theory and coding, Mobile
Communications, Computer Networks and Cryptography and Network Security.While gathering data
for one of the seminars to be presented in class, I learnt about various technologies like the OSI
model, attacks at different layers of the OSI model, architecture of Wireless Sensor Networks, various
cryptographic techniques like Single network-wide key, trusted server approach and pre-key
distribution which are used in Wireless Sensor Networks. This fired my curiosity to explore the world
of computer networks. During my undergraduate studies, I regularly interacted with the faculty in my
department to discuss about my areas of interest. On the advice of Head of the Department Mr. Anil
Kumar Gankotiya, I joined a course through ‘HCL Career Development Centre’ during the summer of
2010. This laid a strong foundation for courses like Java, Computer Networks and network security.

Apart from what was taught in these courses in college, I also wanted to study about the methods of
securing data during transmission. Hence, I analysed in detail the AODV, DSR and ARAN
(Authenticated Routing for Ad hoc Networks) protocols, and studied the susceptibility of each to
Statement of Purpose
Swati Singh
for MS in Information Security/Computer Security/Cyber Security
for Autumn Semester 2020

attacks using modification, impersonation and fabrication. I presented a seminar on this in my

College.

During my final year, I did a mini project on MIMO-OFDM technology titled “Study of Performance
of SNR with Zero Forcing and MMSE equalizers at the receiver end. I used Matlab for the software
implementation of MIMO-OFDM system. I did a major project titled “The Active City
Administration” in my final semester. To alleviate the problem of communication among people with
Administrators to file Complains and to get notified for any awareness programs, I had coded the
entire program in Java. My Project days were the most exciting, interesting and fun days of my
college, as we got involved in more practical work, we made success every day in finding solutions
for efficient coding and we also had so much fun together as a team.

Seeking System Administrator based profiles at campus I got recruited by HCL Technologies Ltd.
as “Graduate Engineer Trainee” and underwent three-month training in many areas. After the
training period, I was selected for “planning, design and implementation” team of “Windows”
department. I applied the knowledge of algorithms and data structures in solving few complex feature
requests and was well appreciated by the senior members of the team. I gave knowledge transfer to
my junior members in the team and presented a seminar on the same. I further enhanced my technical
skills in data structures and algorithms. This helped me improving my problem solving and result-
driven skills. My efforts were recognized by my team members. The corporate exposure that I have
gained over five years in various organizations, I believe will help me a great deal in my Master’s
program in Computer security/Information security/network security.

My capital asset is my thought process. I believe no matter what ups and downs I face, I keep
thinking for the better. I believe thinking is progress and non-thinking is stagnation. During my
professional experience, I made some sincere efforts to improve the ways of working of my team and
my associates. From drawing learning from other’s experiences, sharing of knowledge, implementing
quality techniques, process improvement to performance tuning, I have ensured that I put my head to
it for better results. My experience working with various organizations gave me a window of
opportunities to understand and experience what the employees really need. “A leader is one who
seeks best for those he serves”. I am no different. I initiated small study circles in my college which
encouraged senior students to help the junior students in learning and technical assistance in project
work. This was because, it was difficult for the professor to provide assistance to every student in the
college on a one-on-one basis due to lack of time. I took up small group of 3-4 students and taught
them complicated concepts of Information Technology Engineering. I would ask for their requirement
and help them learn the concepts. I also took regular feedbacks to improve the circle. These small
study circles provided a platform for interaction and learning. I was the Leader (spoc) of the fresher’s
batch who joined along with me in Ericsson. I took initiative and helped in organizing various training
programs for the fresher’s batch. I realized that motivation is intrinsic. A leader can only work with
the factors that trigger motivation and not the motivation per se. My learning from college and the
company will be great take away for me and for the incoming class.

My affinity to Windows and Virtualization makes me keen to apply to your prestigious institution’s
computer science department. The knowledge and experience that I have gained has just given me the
Statement of Purpose
Swati Singh
for MS in Information Security/Computer Security/Cyber Security
for Autumn Semester 2020

taste of computer science, but has certainly not abated crave in me to know the subject in depth. To
satisfy my thirst for knowledge and specialize in information security/network security/computer
security, I strongly feel it is the ideal period for me to do my masters in computer science which has
been my goal for a long time. With the rising complexity of the cyber-security threat landscape, a
cyber-security expert brings together a combination of skills in terms of technical knowledge,
the right mind-set and the maturity that is needed to take on this career that performs a critical
function in the digital era. With the increasing sophistication of attacks and the potential cyber
threats have to bring down national assets, the role of a security engineer is critical. It requires a
combination of high-technology skills to understand, anticipate and pre-empt various attack
techniques, as well as an investigative bent of mind to understand the psychology and motivation of
attacks. To be a security expert, an engineer needs to possess the skills and mind set to perform a
defensive, yet pre-emptive role in protecting the nation. Further, the digital world operates 24 x
7, and it knows no physical boundaries — to keep pace, security engineers need to have a degree
of foresight and quick thinking to mitigate threats before they cause widespread damage.

People say and I believe in “Studying abroad helps you learn about the world and everything
that is happening outside your horizon”. I would like to experience new cultures and meet new
people from different countries. I want to take full advantage of the opportunity and want to dive into
the experience headfirst for I believe it truly can be life changing. While my short-term goal is to
learn, explore, experiment and gain new experiences in this field of, my long-term goal is to
pursue a career in Research or Industry and make a meaningful contribution to this field. I am
an ambitious and motivated individual, genuinely interested in what I am going to do and extremely
excited to pursue my dream With my confidence, good articulation and managerial skills and an eye
for research, I assure you that complete justice will be done to all the opportunities provided to me,
and I will prove to be an invaluable asset to Department and University as I embark on this enriching
journey for Knowledge. I would really appreciate if you could consider me for Research/Teaching
assistantship with any of the professors in the Computer Engineering Department or for financial aid
of any form. I sincerely request you to give me your full consideration.