Network Security Intern
May 2017 - July 2017 | Malaysia, Kuala LumpurIn the summer of 2016, I undertook an eight-week internship with the cybersecurity division at Gamuda Berhad. On my first day, I was handed a laptop next to a pendrive containing a Kali Linux bootable ISO image. Having just completed my first year of university, my work initially involved leveraging tools such as Nmap and “nslookup” to perform simple IP scanning and discovery. Later, I got to work with more advanced tools such as Wireshark, SET and Gophish to carry out company-wide social engineering attacks for security awareness training. My main responsibilities included:
- Shadowing and assisting my supervisor in performing regular security monitoring and maintaience on workstations operating under the company’s internal network
- Conducting a month-long phishing attack on employee email channels using Gophish, as part of a company IT security exercise to raise cybersecurity awareness
For the most part, I played a supporting role as an intern; given this was my first internship, and I knew virtually next to nothing). Interestingly, my work term coincided with the global ransomware virus cyberattacks at the beginning of May 2017, which upped the sense of significance and urgency at which I carried out my tasks. While this internship certainly did not make me Hackerman, the networking concepts I picked up proved useful down the line.
About Gamuda
Founded in 1976, Gamuda Berhad has grown from a construction-based enterprise to become Malaysia’s leading infrastructure developer with core competencies in engineering and construction, infrastructure concessions, as well as lifestyle property and township development. The company has taken on various projects, both locally and overseas, such the construction of Klang Valley MRT lines, Doha international airport, Gamuda Land housing development in Malaysia and Vietnam and so on.