Hi everyone, I would appreciate your feedback on my Motivation Letter for theCYBERSURE - Master's programme in Cybersecurity and Assurance.
The letter has a 500-word limit. Thus i'm trying to make it as concise and compressed as possible
Any suggestions on what to change would be very helpful!!!!
Thanks in advance
Here is my motivation letter:
To the CYBERSURE Admissions Committee,
My journey was defined by a single afternoon in 2016, when Vietnam's major airports were paralyzed by a massive cyberattack. Seeing flight screens defaced and personal data of millions leaked on a national scale was more than a technical breach; it was a catastrophic failure of national infrastructure assurance. This event served as a definitive wake-up call, showing me that behind every weak system is a person whose safety is at risk. This realization became my core motivation: to move beyond mere threat detection toward building secure, trustworthy systems that can withstand real-world disruptions, where I decided to apply for CYBERSURE
I pursued this mission at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, ranking second in my major. During my time at the Bach Khoa Cyber Security Center, I published two conference papers. I proposed an approach for early-phase detection of Remote Access Trojans using raw network traffic and developed a malware detection framework combining deep learning with static analysis. When doing both of them, I sharpened my technical skills by managing the full research lifecycle, from processing raw network packets and malware executables to designing models. However, like the lesson from 2016, I recognized that high detection accuracy is only half the battle; ensuring system assurance and reliability is the true challenge.
This gap became evident during my graduation thesis on anomaly detection for Industrial Control Systems (ICS). I found that even the most sophisticated models are insufficient without the inherent resilience of the infrastructure they protect. Lacking structured training in secure systems engineering made this work particularly challenging for further improvement. Thus, I am applying to CYBERSURE because it is the only program that uniquely integrates cybersecurity and assurance as a unified domain.
The first year at NTNU is crucial for me to gain expertise in risk management and critical infrastructure security to fill my knowledge gap. Besides, I am especially eager to test my research in realistic scenarios at the Norwegian Cyber Range. For my second year, I aim to specialize at EURECOM or KTH, where the focus on network security perfectly aligns with my current research on defending against backdoor attacks in Federated Learning (FL).
Beyond research, I also led a team in the Student Creative Ideas Challenge to develop a product aimed at raising public awareness of cybersecurity. In this project, I designed the system architecture, built the control server, and implemented a controlled "benign malware" to safely simulate real attack behaviors; it eventually won third prize in the contest and pushed me forward to contribute to cybersecurity awareness. My long-term goal is to pursue a PhD and develop resilient solutions that protect global digital infrastructures. One belief I always carry is that cybersecurity is about protecting people, making the digital world safer, and building trust. I am confident that my academic record and clear vision make me an excellent candidate for CYBERSURE.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
....
The letter has a 500-word limit. Thus i'm trying to make it as concise and compressed as possible
Any suggestions on what to change would be very helpful!!!!
Thanks in advance
Here is my motivation letter:
To the CYBERSURE Admissions Committee,
My journey was defined by a single afternoon in 2016, when Vietnam's major airports were paralyzed by a massive cyberattack. Seeing flight screens defaced and personal data of millions leaked on a national scale was more than a technical breach; it was a catastrophic failure of national infrastructure assurance. This event served as a definitive wake-up call, showing me that behind every weak system is a person whose safety is at risk. This realization became my core motivation: to move beyond mere threat detection toward building secure, trustworthy systems that can withstand real-world disruptions, where I decided to apply for CYBERSURE
I pursued this mission at Hanoi University of Science and Technology, ranking second in my major. During my time at the Bach Khoa Cyber Security Center, I published two conference papers. I proposed an approach for early-phase detection of Remote Access Trojans using raw network traffic and developed a malware detection framework combining deep learning with static analysis. When doing both of them, I sharpened my technical skills by managing the full research lifecycle, from processing raw network packets and malware executables to designing models. However, like the lesson from 2016, I recognized that high detection accuracy is only half the battle; ensuring system assurance and reliability is the true challenge.
This gap became evident during my graduation thesis on anomaly detection for Industrial Control Systems (ICS). I found that even the most sophisticated models are insufficient without the inherent resilience of the infrastructure they protect. Lacking structured training in secure systems engineering made this work particularly challenging for further improvement. Thus, I am applying to CYBERSURE because it is the only program that uniquely integrates cybersecurity and assurance as a unified domain.
The first year at NTNU is crucial for me to gain expertise in risk management and critical infrastructure security to fill my knowledge gap. Besides, I am especially eager to test my research in realistic scenarios at the Norwegian Cyber Range. For my second year, I aim to specialize at EURECOM or KTH, where the focus on network security perfectly aligns with my current research on defending against backdoor attacks in Federated Learning (FL).
Beyond research, I also led a team in the Student Creative Ideas Challenge to develop a product aimed at raising public awareness of cybersecurity. In this project, I designed the system architecture, built the control server, and implemented a controlled "benign malware" to safely simulate real attack behaviors; it eventually won third prize in the contest and pushed me forward to contribute to cybersecurity awareness. My long-term goal is to pursue a PhD and develop resilient solutions that protect global digital infrastructures. One belief I always carry is that cybersecurity is about protecting people, making the digital world safer, and building trust. I am confident that my academic record and clear vision make me an excellent candidate for CYBERSURE.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
....
