The Art of IT Security: Know Your Enemies

DISM Year 2 students won third prize in the “Capture The Flag” competition.

21 Aug 2009 - A team of Diploma in Infocomm Security Management (DISM) Year 2 students won the third prize at the “Capture The Flag” (CtF) competition, which took place from 2nd – 3rd July 2009, as part of The Symposium on Security for Asia Network (SyScan) Conference 2009 held at Novotel Clarke Quay Hotel.

Our DISM Year 2 students, Cheah Kit Weng, Ishaan Singh and Mohamad Daniel Bin Hamid (also known as team Cyber Monkeys) had applied their Infocomm Security knowledge and skills in a competitive environment. The team was assigned with an "operational" network from the organizer with hardware-based firewall and computer servers. They were required to correct problems on their network, to perform computer hardening tasks on the servers, and to defend their network infrastructure from other teams that generated live and hostile attacks throughout the competition.

Said Ishaan, "It has been a complete learning experience for all of us. When we first went there, we had no idea what's going to happen and how are we to handle it. Eventually, we fell back to our basics that we have learned in our DISM course. We also got the much needed exposure in the field of Infocomm Security and could feel the importance of securing important assets. All in all, it was a wonderful experience. "

For their efforts and enthusiasm, the team was placed a credible third place in the competition as they faced challenges from other seasoned IT security practitioners as well as teams from other tertiary institution. This was the first time they participated in a major IT security competition and they were the only all student team among the top 3 winners. For the third placement, the team walked away with S$1,000 cash price

When East meets West Cultural Exchange Programme with students from U.K.

7 Aug 2009. A 4-member student team from the Faculty of Advanced Technology, University of Glamorgan, U.K., visited the school of Digital Media and Infocomm Technology (DMIT), Singapore Polytechnic, from 26 July to 7 August 2009. This is the first student exchange programme between the University of Glamorgan (UK) and students from the Diploma in Infocomm Security Management (DISM). The objectives of the exchange programme are to promote global learning and cultural exchanges.

During the visit, the exchange students participated in DMIT daily activities and classes. There were many opportunities for DISM students to interact with the exchange students outside the classrooms. Their friendships were cemented over soccer and badminton games. The exchange students also completed a project on Computer Forensics and presented the findings in one of the classes. They also conducted a seminar entitled “Computer Forensics and Expert Witness” to DISM students.

“It was an interesting experience to bring the fun-loving students from Cardiff, Wales, to see a bit of Singapore. It was fun to coax them to try our unique local food, like the runny soft boiled eggs and the kaya toast. We even talked a little about school work and exchanged some ideas, “ said Andre Ng, a final-year DISM student.

Besides the academic activities, the exchange students also experienced the rich cultural diversity of Singapore. The students visited various places such as Haw Par Villa, Sri Mariamman Temple, Chinatown, flea Market at Sungei Road, amongst others.

One of the highlights of the exchange programme was the Memorandum of Co-operation (MOC) signing ceremony held on 7th Aug 2009. The MOC was signed by Dr. Timothy Chan, Director, School of DMIT, Singapore Polytechnic and Dr. Andrew Ware, Head, Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Advanced Technology, University of Glamorgan.

The MOC will enable co-operation between Singapore Polytechnic and University of Glamorgan to encourage academic exchanges in various areas such as education and research; particularly in the areas of IT security and computer forensic.

Dr. Chan, “I trust that the MOC signed today will form the basis of a close and long-term partnership between School of DMIT and University of Glamorgan. We will work closely with Glamorgan to take full advantage of the opportunities offered by this new partnership.”

The signing of MOC also marked the last day of the first student exchange programme and the event ended with a sumptuous and delicious meal at SP RELAX@MOBERLY.

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About University of Glamorgan
The University of Glamorgan, U.K., was established in the year 1913. The campuses of the University are based in Glyntaff and Treforest both near the town of Pontypridd, Wales. There are around 21,500 students enrolled at the university which includes around 3,200 overseas students. Glamorgan’s graduates in computer forensics are popular with U.K. employers in the local and national police forces, business and government departments for their knowledge, experience and broad range of skills.

Welcome to SP-DISM Blog

Wlecome to the SP-DISM blog. The purpose of this blog is to publish the events and happening in Diploma in Information Security Management (DISM) course here in Singapore Polytechnic (SP). Hope the information is useful to those who are interested in knowing more about DISM.