“Nothing prepares you for work like work.” Sounds like something a parent or grandparent might say; one of those gems of wisdom that only comes from experience. Well, that’s half true. In fact it was 20-something Jason Poon who uttered that shrewd quip. A recent graduate of UBC’s Electrical and Computer Engineering program (ECE), Jason and fellow classmate Oliver Zheng are new employees at Microsoft. Programmers in software development, both report that the co-ops and internships they did through UBC were an essential part of their education. “Learning about software systems in school is very different from what is applied in industry,” says Oliver, “there is no real equivalent for direct experience.”
Oliver did his two co-op terms with Broadcom, a wireless and broadband communications company based in Irvine, California. The firm has offices in Richmond providing local students with the opportunity to work with one of the world’s leading producers of semiconductors. While there, Oliver developed software for cable modems and Voice over IP. “The real practical knowledge [of my degree] came from the co-ops,” he says. Jason did his first co-op at Broadcom as well, and choose to do his second term with Research in Motion, the developer of the renowned Blackberry.
For their interships, both Oliver and Jason were given the chance to go to Microsoft. They both helped develop software products for the company– Jason worked on Windows Marketplace, and Oliver, on Windows Mobile. They say their internship experience allowed them to get “a good hold on the company culture” and gave them the opportunity to “make important contacts.” And indeed, not long after graduation, Microsoft offered both of them permanent employment.It’s worth noting that their internships were not their only contact with Microsoft. While students, Jason and Oliver presented a paper at an international conference using Windows Live Messenger as a case study. The ideas for the paper emerged out of a project they undertook in a computer security course taught by Dr. Konstantin Beznosov, an Associate Professor in ECE. Jason and Oliver’s project was to carefully examine how TCP hijacking had occurred in the past and how, despite modern detection systems, it could happen again today.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is a method of delivering information between programs from different computers. It is the protocol used by most major internet applications. A few years ago TCP was open to disruption by nefarious third parties who could and would intercede in the delivery process, sending a malevolent packet of information with the communiqué. TCP hijacking is easily preventable today because disruptions in TCP create a dis-synchrony in communications, which enables them to be detected. As a result, they are no longer considered a real threat.Jason and Oliver, however, set out to prove that malevolent information could be interjected through the use of what they call “Application-Based TCP Hijacking” or ABTH. Using Windows Live Messenger as a test case, they determined it was possible for a third party to masquerade as one of the members of a two-way conversation, thereby making dis-synchrony difficult to immediately expose. By exploiting ABTH, they found an attacker could send more than one packet before detection. The implications, of course, are that TCP hijacking can still occur.
Accompanied by Dr. Beznosov, the students presented their findings in Nuremberg, Germany, at the 2009 EuroSec workshop on System Security. Shortly thereafter they got in touch with Microsoft to share their results. While Jason and Oliver are quick to point out that their paper had no direct impact on the decision to employ them, it’s no surprise that Microsoft would want to snap up these smart, ambitious students.
Today Oliver works with the team responsible for Office Suite, in the division that works on Windows Word, and Jason is part of the software team developing the new Windows Phone. (Dream jobs from the standpoint of many computer engineering students.) They both say it’s very exciting. “I can just walk down the street and see people using technology I’ve worked on,” says Jason proudly, “I get to see the results of my work; it has an effect on people.”
When asked what advice they’d give students trying to find similar success in the job market, Oliver recommends that while they are still in school, students should “see a project through from design to completion… Research any technology that interests you, then develop that interest and pursue it.” “Code something useful for yourself or others,” chimes Jason, “It’s very rewarding to see something you’ve made in use… [and] it’s the best experience you can have to prepare yourself for the working world.”
Learn More:
Engineering Coop
Microsoft Internships
Application-based TCP Hijacking