Imagine a scenario where the government's financial reserve disappears from the country's central banking system overnight. Sounds like an absurd statement, unfortunately it is feasible and has been the case in the past. A surprising event took place in 2016 in Bangladesh: a group of hackers infiltrated the SWIFT payment network of the central bank of Bangladesh, which is used for international money transfers. They attempted to steal 1 billion USD and managed to transfer 81 million dollars successfully. This shocked the entire nation, including me. This incident pushed me to think more deeply and made me aware of how much I don't understand about cybercrime. It sparked my curiosity and became my key motivation for this field. My name is Asif Hasan. I hold a bachelor's degree in computer science from American International University- Bangladesh. My current objective is to obtain a master's degree in cybersecurity, and to work as a cyber specialist in a major banking organization in Bangladesh.
From a very young age, I had a keen interest towards technology, devices, computers, etc. That's the primary reason I chose computer science as my major in bachelor's studies. Throughout my degree journey, I had been introduced to a lot of topics, courses which I wasn't familiar with before, and I learned various things, gained new knowledge. There was a course named Introduction to Computer Studies, which was my first medium of exposure to the cybersecurity world. From curiosity, I enrolled in another course on an online platform, "Cisco Networking Academy". I learned more about cyber attacks, infiltration methods, security exploits and data privacy, etc. I researched cybersecurity in a course named "Research Methodology", where I made a research proposal and outline on cybercrime, data maintenance and privacy. Received a lot of applause and even the Dean's Award for outstanding performance in that semester. I choose to specialize in software quality assurance throughout my professional career. After completing a four-month internship, I started working on the Banglalink project, which is a well-renowned telecommunications company in Bangladesh. I was responsible for the quality and maintenance of the MyBL app, the company's primary business platform. During this period of association with Banglalink, I developed analytical and technical skills, but one major thing I learned from there was the significance of data encryption and application vulnerabilities to threats. Working with sensitive user data made me aware of probable risks, such as unauthorised access, data breaches and insecure API's. My experience in validating authentication flows and secure API's integration elevates my understanding of how cybersecurity principles are embedded within software application quality.
As the era of modern technology is thriving with the world going all mobile and digital, as well as the innovation affecting our daily life, the need for cybersecurity is of utmost importance to everyone. People tend to believe that our data is well-protected, or even ignore the possibility of data breaches. But in reality, we hear news about hacking and confidential data leakage as a daily dose, and we often dismiss them as mere occurrences without fully comprehending the severity of such a catastrophe. For example, piracy is widely known as a criminal offence, but most people generally overlook its seriousness, specifically in some Asian countries where piracy is part of daily activities. People give more importance to the temptation of claiming free materials and content rather than the risk of exposure to cybersecurity threats like malware, viruses, which come along with pirated software or media. These occurrences are happening both at the global and local levels daily through email scams, ransomware attacks, financial fraud, etc. In a progressing country like Bangladesh, where the majority of people are less familiar with this issue and only possess very little knowledge about technology are the primary victims. A simple fake email or pop-up ad thumbnail on the internet is enough to trick and steal their digital data. In my experience, I once found multiple phishing links disguised as bank sms sent to my father's mobile, who was totally unaware of this scam. My inspiration for selecting cybersecurity comes from observing rapid digitalization in Bangladesh and the increasing threat with it. Particularly, online banking and Mobile financial services (MFS) such as Bkash, Nagad, Rocket, used by millions of people for everyday payment transactions, have become frequent targets of cybercrime. This is a very common case where a user's online wallet balance is stolen by otp theft or exploiting platform vulnerabilities. Witnessing this repeated crime made me realize the rising need for specialists in this field.
I chose the CyberMAC program for several reasons. For starters, it focuses on cryptography in its curriculum, which is highly relevant to the challenges currently affecting Bangladesh and solutions regarding banking and MFS services security. Another one is the opportunity to work with industrial partners in SRH throughout a semester which I found impressive. This practical training will be a great chance for me, as I will be able to collaborate with experts from different international companies and gain valuable knowledge and insights about foreign work culture. And the scholarship is crucial for me as the cost of participating in the program goes beyond what I can manage on my own. Receiving this scholarship will remove my financial barrier and allow me to dedicate myself to academic excellence.
I am determined to utilize the knowledge and expertise gained from this program in my country, preferably in the banking system. Contributing my skills to the major financial sector, such as the Bangladesh Bank, the central chain of the banking system is my ambition. Working there and contributing to the workflow will make a difference in Bangladesh's issues. All the reasons and experiences mentioned above have prepared me for this master's program, and I am confident this degree will assist me in achieving my goal in the long term.
From a very young age, I had a keen interest towards technology, devices, computers, etc. That's the primary reason I chose computer science as my major in bachelor's studies. Throughout my degree journey, I had been introduced to a lot of topics, courses which I wasn't familiar with before, and I learned various things, gained new knowledge. There was a course named Introduction to Computer Studies, which was my first medium of exposure to the cybersecurity world. From curiosity, I enrolled in another course on an online platform, "Cisco Networking Academy". I learned more about cyber attacks, infiltration methods, security exploits and data privacy, etc. I researched cybersecurity in a course named "Research Methodology", where I made a research proposal and outline on cybercrime, data maintenance and privacy. Received a lot of applause and even the Dean's Award for outstanding performance in that semester. I choose to specialize in software quality assurance throughout my professional career. After completing a four-month internship, I started working on the Banglalink project, which is a well-renowned telecommunications company in Bangladesh. I was responsible for the quality and maintenance of the MyBL app, the company's primary business platform. During this period of association with Banglalink, I developed analytical and technical skills, but one major thing I learned from there was the significance of data encryption and application vulnerabilities to threats. Working with sensitive user data made me aware of probable risks, such as unauthorised access, data breaches and insecure API's. My experience in validating authentication flows and secure API's integration elevates my understanding of how cybersecurity principles are embedded within software application quality.
As the era of modern technology is thriving with the world going all mobile and digital, as well as the innovation affecting our daily life, the need for cybersecurity is of utmost importance to everyone. People tend to believe that our data is well-protected, or even ignore the possibility of data breaches. But in reality, we hear news about hacking and confidential data leakage as a daily dose, and we often dismiss them as mere occurrences without fully comprehending the severity of such a catastrophe. For example, piracy is widely known as a criminal offence, but most people generally overlook its seriousness, specifically in some Asian countries where piracy is part of daily activities. People give more importance to the temptation of claiming free materials and content rather than the risk of exposure to cybersecurity threats like malware, viruses, which come along with pirated software or media. These occurrences are happening both at the global and local levels daily through email scams, ransomware attacks, financial fraud, etc. In a progressing country like Bangladesh, where the majority of people are less familiar with this issue and only possess very little knowledge about technology are the primary victims. A simple fake email or pop-up ad thumbnail on the internet is enough to trick and steal their digital data. In my experience, I once found multiple phishing links disguised as bank sms sent to my father's mobile, who was totally unaware of this scam. My inspiration for selecting cybersecurity comes from observing rapid digitalization in Bangladesh and the increasing threat with it. Particularly, online banking and Mobile financial services (MFS) such as Bkash, Nagad, Rocket, used by millions of people for everyday payment transactions, have become frequent targets of cybercrime. This is a very common case where a user's online wallet balance is stolen by otp theft or exploiting platform vulnerabilities. Witnessing this repeated crime made me realize the rising need for specialists in this field.
I chose the CyberMAC program for several reasons. For starters, it focuses on cryptography in its curriculum, which is highly relevant to the challenges currently affecting Bangladesh and solutions regarding banking and MFS services security. Another one is the opportunity to work with industrial partners in SRH throughout a semester which I found impressive. This practical training will be a great chance for me, as I will be able to collaborate with experts from different international companies and gain valuable knowledge and insights about foreign work culture. And the scholarship is crucial for me as the cost of participating in the program goes beyond what I can manage on my own. Receiving this scholarship will remove my financial barrier and allow me to dedicate myself to academic excellence.
I am determined to utilize the knowledge and expertise gained from this program in my country, preferably in the banking system. Contributing my skills to the major financial sector, such as the Bangladesh Bank, the central chain of the banking system is my ambition. Working there and contributing to the workflow will make a difference in Bangladesh's issues. All the reasons and experiences mentioned above have prepared me for this master's program, and I am confident this degree will assist me in achieving my goal in the long term.
