MITRE Corporation Presentation

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Hosted by  Top Secret Colonials

The MITRE Corporation will have a presentation on Monday, October 3rd from 4:30 – 5:40 pm, Wheatley Atrium.   MITRE Corporation is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center, supporting over seven defense and civil agencies (including the National Institute of Standards for Cybersecurity and healthcare). Dr. Susan Tisdale will provide an overview of MITRE, its work, opportunities for summer internships, and how to apply for those internships. The presenter, a 20-year military veteran and 10 year MITRE employee will also discuss government opportunities as a federal employee, military member and contractor.

Students will earn SET credit. Snacks will be provided.

Cybersecurity in the Automotive Industry

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Over the past decade or two, RMU has grown into a rather diverse university in regards to the variety of degrees available. With the influx of new technology during this time period, the need for cybersecurity has risen exponentially. RMU’s cyberforensics and information security program has done nothing but grow since its inception. If you were to ask students in the program where their dream job would be, most would probably respond with a government, law enforcement, or financial institution of some sort. If you happen to ask the same question at some point in the near future, you may be surprised to discover students who are looking for work in the automotive industry.

As I mentioned before, the growth of technology and integration of tech into our everyday lives has created new weak points for cyber criminals to exploit. Computers are increasingly being used in vehicles to control and operate basic functions and a number of features, such as remote engine start, can now be controlled through the use of smartphone apps. To combat the risk that modern vehicles are threatened with, Volkswagen is teaming up with Yuval Diskin, the former head of Israel’s intelligence agency. The joint venture was created with the goal of protecting the next generation of cars from hackers. The new company, called CyMotive Technologies, will be primarily run by acting chairman, Diskin, while Volkswagen will possess a 40% stake in the company.

This may be the first time you have heard of a cybersecurity firm dedicated specifically to automotive security, but it won’t be the last. IBM and Harman are two other major companies that have previously invested money in other Israeli firms focused on automotive security. These companies are hoping to restrict and limit automotive hacking while it is still in its infant stages. While we do not know what automotive advances will look like in the future, or what kind of features will become the new standard, one thing can be assumed for sure: the need for competent cybersecurity professionals will continue to increase.

PNC Technology – Internship Opportunity

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PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. is seeking Technology Interns for the summer of 2017. The internship program will be available in Pittsburgh, PA, Philadelphia, PA, and Cleveland, OH. The program will be ten weeks long; there are three separate internship opportunities with PNC Technology: Business Systems Analyst Intern, Application Developer Intern, and Infrastructure Analyst Intern.

Business Systems Analyst Intern – interacts with clients and service partners (both internal and external) to coordinate the development, analysis, implementation, and on-going support of approved system enhancement requests.

Application Developer Intern – interacts with all members of the application development team, business analysis team and business service partners to successfully implement system enhancement requests.

Infrastructure Analyst Intern – interacts with all members of the support team and individual Line of Business partners and internal clients as needed per project.

Qualifications:

  • Sophmore or Junior working towards a Bachelor’s Degree
  • GPA of 3.0 or above

Apply at http://www.pnc.jobs/students or on ColonialTRAK.

There will also be a booth for PNC at the RMU Career Fair on September 26, 2016. Representatives from PNC will be available to speak with and interview students.

For more information about the internship:   ColonialTRAK Job Posting

For more information about the Career Fair:   Career Fair Information

Galaxy Note S7: Is It Safe?

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Unless you’ve somehow been able to avoid social media and the news over the past few weeks, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard about the two hottest (literally and figuratively) pieces of recent tech news. I, of course, am referring to the announcement of the iPhone 7/7s and the spontaneous combustion of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 batteries. I won’t waste your time by touching on my opinion of the new iPhone in this article but will instead give you a summary of what is going wrong with the Note 7’s.

When I first heard about the exploding Note 7 batteries, my immediate reaction was along the lines of “just like those hoverboards!” I’m sure we all remember the emails from last year informing students that they were no longer allowed to ride or even store hoverboards on campus grounds. It turns out that the Note 7’s are having the same exact issue as some of the cheaper hoverboard models did.

Much like hoverboards, cell phones utilize lithium ion battery packs as their primary power source. The science behind lithium ion battery packs is fairly simple and has been around for many years. Issues arise when the thin piece of plastic separating the positive and negative ends of the battery becomes punctured. This forces the battery to short circuit and, in turn, forces the point where the separating plastic was ruptured to become the path of least resistance for the electrical current. When this happens, the liquid electrolyte, which makes up most of the battery internals and also happens to be very flammable, heats up. If the electrolyte solution heats up too quickly, it can cause the phone to heat up to an extreme temperature or even explode in rare cases.

As I mentioned before, the Note 7 is by no means the first phone to encounter this issue. The reason that it is affecting Note 7’s in particular is because of too much external pressure during the manufacturing process. The pressure plates used during the manufacturing process squeezed the battery too tightly and forced the positive and negative poles of the battery to come into contact. These poles can only come into contact if the piece of separating plastic is punctured, thus creating the path of least resistance directly between the two poles.

The phone industry is well aware of the potential risks that lithium ion battery packs can cause but most likely will not move away from the use of the packs until a better (affordable) technology comes along. Frankly, the lithium ion route is cheap and relatively safe, so advancement in terms of power supply will only happen when alternatives can be produced cheaply. Samsung is not the only company to have had issues with lithium ion battery technology. Nokia and Apple have both had issues with dangerous batteries in the past (in 2004 and 2009 respectively).

The risk of your battery exploding is very small but it is better to be safe than sorry. Independent analysis states that less than 1,000 of the 2.5 million Galaxy Note 7’s (.01%) that were previously manufactured have experienced issues.  Samsung is offering refunds to users who have purchased the faulty Galaxy Note 7’s and has already switched battery suppliers. If you happen to have a Galaxy Note 7, it is within your best interest to return the phone as soon as possible to eliminate potential risk. You will either receive a full refund or you can trade it in for a different Samsung smartphone.

Washington Center Seminar Presentation – Tuesday, September 13th

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TSC LogoCIS and the Top Secret Colonials would like to invite you to a presentation from the students who attended the Washington Center Seminar this past summer on Tuesday, September 13th at 3:00 pm in the Wheatley Atrium. President Howard and several administrators will be present in support of the students. Following the student presentation, President Howard will introduce RMU’s first Presidential Leadership Fellow, Chris Davis who will present at 4:00 pm. Chris Davis worked with the students this past summer at The Washington Center and was one of their favorite presenters. You will find his impressive bio here: Chris Davis Biography. You will earn SET credit for the two presentations.

Snacks will be provided.

The Washington Center National Security Seminar 2016

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Welcome back RMU students!

This past May, the Top Secret Colonials attended a two-week seminar at the Washington Center in Washington, DC. Students analyzed and researched various topics pertaining to cybersecurity. The seminar also included discussions with members of the CIA, DHS, FBI, and NSA.

Take a sneak peek at the Washington Center National Security Seminar from the eyes of those who have attended with this video: TWC National Seminar

There will also be a presentation on Tuesday, September 13th at 3pm in the Wheatley Atrium providing a more in-depth look at the seminar. We look forward to seeing you there!

Highmark Health Seeking Application Developers for New Hire Rotation Program

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Highmark Health is seeking candidates for positions in their Rotation Program for new college graduates, with a June start date.  They are primarily looking for Application Developers, but other opportunities may also be available.  For more information, see:

HM Associate IT Analyst – Rotation Program

Job Opportunities at Federated Investors

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Federated Investors is seeking an Applications Systems Analyst/Programmer and a Business Systems Analyst.  Both of these roles would be located in the Warrendale, PA office.

JOB OPENING #: 6961
POSITION TITLE: APPLICATIONS SYSTEMS ANALYST/PROGRAMMER
DEPARTMENT: BISD

POSITION SPECIFICATIONS:
Bachelor degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, a comparable technical/engineering field, or equivalent work experience required
Up to five years of experience with team-oriented development in a relational database environment required
Experience with SQL (Structured Query Language) required
Experience with Microsoft Excel VBA, Microsoft SSRS, Oracle PL/SQL and Microsoft SSAS preferred
Experience with Business Intelligence tools preferred
Experience with IBOR application Eagle preferred

MAJOR DUTIES:
With some supervision, designs, writes and modifies reports, programs, scripts, and modules which meet Federated’s Investment Management reporting needs
Prepares test data and implements test scripts
Effectively utilizes and optimizes system resources appropriate to the business need at hand.
Adhere to departmental System Development Life Cycle standards (programming, turnover, testing, documentation, incident reporting, etc.)
Maintain current understanding of programming, analytical and related development techniques appropriate to this position
Perform incident management, root cause analysis and targeted development enhancements and bug fixes
On call support for Investment Management reporting applications that will require a rotational 24 X 7 support commitment

HOURS/LOCATION:
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (Overtime as required)
Warrendale location – Warrendale, PA 15086

EXPLANATORY COMMENTS:
Good decision making and problem solving skills
Good analytical skills with attention to detail and accuracy
Ability to work on multiple assignments simultaneously

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JOB OPENING #: 6926
POSITION TITLE: BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST
DEPARTMENT: BISD-IMS BUSINESS ANALYSIS – INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS

POSITION SPECIFICATIONS:
Bachelor Degree in Computer Science, Information Systems, Business or equivalent experience required
Four to eight years systems analysis experience required
Demonstrated problem solving abilities within an IT organization required
Experience working with relational databases writing Structured Query Language (SQL) required
Experience working with MS Windows based applications required
Ability to drive meetings with technical or business audiences and present ideas to project teams required
Three or more years of experience with either mutual funds, securities, financial accounting and/or industry-standard Investment Book of Record (IBOR) preferred
Experience with Corporate Actions systems or Reconciliation systems preferred
Experience with Business Intelligence and/or Data Warehousing tools preferred

MAJOR DUTIES:
Solve business problems by performing business analysis, preparing requirements specifications and/or designs, providing project management, and testing for relevant business process modifications, applications, and/or reporting enhancements.
Work collaboratively with the business unit (Investment Management Operations) to define business objectives and requirements and provide consultative support as needed regarding applications and business processes.
Evaluate business needs, recommending best fit solutions such as purchasing third-party software, integrating multiple software applications or repairing current applications. This includes configuring and testing the IBOR tools and environment, as well as the operational integration between IBOR and other existing key Investment Management Systems.
Initiate and coordinate communication with BISD and business staff and management as required to facilitate the most effective and efficient solution to a problem
Work with technical and development staff to conduct unit, system, and user acceptance testing. This includes developing and publishing test specifications, preparing test data, and creating user acceptance testing documents.
Determine and prepare estimates for completion of assigned tasks
Prepare business and functional requirements documents and all other required documentation as outlined in Federated’s Software Development Lifecycle Process.
Provide hands-on support and training, as needed, to the Operations staff.
Mentor other business analysts and provide guidance to the team

HOURS/LOCATION:
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (over time as required)
Federated Investors Tower – Twenty-first floor

EXPLANATORY COMMENTS:
Strong communication and interpersonal skills
Excellent analytical and problem solving skills with attention to detail and accuracy
Well-organized with the ability to work independently while still being a team player

If interested, please contact Kim Caruso at KCaruso@federatedinv.com.