Keeping up with cyber security

Recently, a global cyber attack hit many places around the world, leaving people fearing that they might be the next victim.

WannaCry is a ransomware that locks the files on your computer, so you cannot access them until you pay, in this case, bitcoins. The worm has spread extensively to over 150 countries in just five days, and is a top concern among governments around the world.

This ongoing global attack highlights the importance of cyber security, and the passion for increasing youths’ awareness of cyber security was exactly what brought the NUS Greyhats together.

The team, which has 15 members now, was formed in 2013, when a group of eight like-minded friends from the National University of Singapore (NUS) decided to set up an interest group for those passionate about computer and information security.

They wanted to raise cyber security awareness, increase the technical proficiency and inculcate a security-first mindset among students, said Yeo Quan Yang, the co-founder of NUS Greyhats.

The 26-year-old, who is now working as a security engineer at Apple, explained how the group started small: “NUS Greyhats was only known within our faculty, NUS Computing, then we slowly grew from there.”

“During my freshmen year, it occurred to me that many of my fellow schoolmates did not place much (importance) in the security and privacy of information,” he added.

The group’s regular activities include “Security Wednesdays”, where speakers from the information security industry are invited to share their experience and knowledge on the last Wednesday of each month. Occasionally, they organise workshops where members teach IT skills to other students in NUS.

To build their reputation, Quan Yang and his team went out to give talks and participated in competitions, both locally and internationally.

“Our participation served as good practice for our members to hone technical skills and a good chance to reach out to other international teams. Last year, we ranked 156 out of 12,000 teams [based on all the cyber security competitions participated over the year],” he added.

“[People] always talk about the lack of talent in the cyber security industry and we already recognised that a long time ago. At NUS Greyhats, we hope that our workshops and events would help bridge this gap and cultivate passion in students, to better prepare them for the industry,” said Quan Yang.

So, what does he feel about the recent WannaCry global attack?

“In this scenario, by updating their operating system regularly and promptly, most of them would have been safe from the [ransomware] attack,” replied Quan Yang.

He also provided some tips for those who want to prevent or recover from a cyber attack (see below).

 

He said: “I had to sacrifice something. There was some point in university when I was lacking sleep, I just slept four to five hours a day.”

For his achievements in IT, Quan Yang was recently awarded the IT Leader Awards (IT Youth) by Singapore Computer Society.

Quan Yang is now busy planning for the second Capture-The-Flag event later this year, where teams from universities and polytechnics will compete to be the top student hacker.

“We wish to build a community of information security enthusiasts in Singapore. We’re hoping that the event will help attract and garner passion from other academic institutions and schools all over Singapore,” he said.

BANNER AND TEASER CREDITS: YOUTH.SG/LAU AI XUAN