Stepping up with cloud computing

In today’s technological world, the phrase ‘cloud computing’ is not foreign to those involved in either computing or engineering industry. For those who are not aware of it- the phrase- simply refers to the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility over a network.

As long as there is a demand for cloud computing, there are obviously opportunities waiting to be seized by those who mastered it. Keeping this in mind, KBU International College always engages its students in activities such as IBM SmartCloud Camp which is jointly organised by IBM Malaysia and MDeC.

The event which was open for both professionals and students was held from 24^th to 25^th February 2012 in Tunku Abdul Rahman College. 

“The journey towards the IBM SmartCloud Camp started in September 2011 after a complimentary cloud training and compulsory online quiz,” said Olayemi Folake Esther, a Nigerian student from KBU who obtained second prize together with her team mates.

She added that the victory was unexpected as all she wanted was to acquire more knowledge on cloud computing from the camp.

 “KBU has contributed a lot to my success. The knowledge I acquired from the College has been very helpful,” added Olayemi who is currently pursuing her studies in BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering.

 “Even though I am a foreigner, I never felt out of place. The lecturers are always interacting closely with all students, both local and international students. I don’t think other institutions can offer such an environment,” said Olayemi.

 “Around 90 shortlisted students and professionals were selected to join the three-day intensive camp, “said Chong Han Liang, KBU alumnus who graduated last year with BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering. 

“There were 15 teams comprised of professionals and students competing amongst each other. We were given two scenarios to choose from for the topic of our proposal- delivering infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and delivering Software as a Service (SaaS),” said Chong who grabbed second prize in the competition.

Chong added that the close collaboration between KBU and IBM has enabled him to obtain first-hand exposure to IBM technologies.

“KBU has paved a solid foundation for me to tackle the daily challenges in my working life,” he added.

Our students’ continuous success proves the quality of engineering programmes provided by the College. KBU graduates have a track record of being headhunted to exciting and rewarding careers in diverse fields, all within a short timeframe, and in many instances, immediately upon their graduation.

The College offers an array of engineering and computing programmes ranging from BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering, BSc (Hons) Computer and Network Engineering, BSc (Hons) Software Engineering, BSc (Hons) Information and Communications Technology, and NCC Level 4 Diploma in Computing. 

For further details, please contact KBU International College, Bandar Utama, at Tel: 03-77273200 or Fax: 03-77272733 or email: enquiry@kbu.edu.my or visit our website: www.kbu.edu.my. You can also join us at http://facebook.com/kbuinternational.  Alternatively, you can also visit us during the KBU Info Day (17-18^th March 2011) or drop by during KBU Open Day which is scheduled to take place on   24^th-25^th March 2012 from 8.30am-6 pm.

(Published in The Star newpaper.)

IBM SmartCloud Camp

A group of students and lecturers from the School of Engineering and Computing secured a place in the SmartCloud which IBM is organizing with the support from Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (MDEC).  The camp was held from 23 to 25 February 2012, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm at the Dewan Utama, Tunku Abdul Rahman College, Setapak.

The SmartCloud Camp started off at the end of Sept last year and since then IBM had trained 389 students and IT professionals on the foundation of cloud computing. Of this number, 60 students have obtained their certification on IBM cloud computing which granted them the privilege to join the 3-day SmartCloud Camp.

We are pleased to announce that two KBU students were part of the team who won the Second Prize at the SmartCloud Camp.  The winners received a HTC Cha Cha android phone each.  All participants received a certificate of participation from IBM.

Group Photo

The team who won the second prize. Esther (centre) is currently pursuing her BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronics, Year 1.  The other KBU student (Chong Han Liang) was not present during the prize-giving ceremony.

Another team with KBU student, Eng Lian Xun (right).

Determination- key to success

"Hi! It's me again!"

The winners

Having grabbed the runner-up position for two consecutive years in the eGenting programming competition- the determined KBU alumnus Chong Han Liang-has emerged as the winner for the year 2011, receiving cash amounting RM6000. 

 “The competition lets students to have a brief exposure to real-world programming challenges, requiring them to apply what is learnt in their curriculum. The competition opens the door of opportunities for students and reveals how the real working world would be, “said Chong who graduated from BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronic Engineering last year.

He added that such competitions will in turn allow students to focus on the key aspects of writing code.

 “From my experience, the competition usually attracts 100-200 students from around the nation and the students will be given 8 hours to attempt 4 to 5 real world programming tasks,” said Chong.

He added that the questions normally range from easy, with algorithm which is usually hinted, requiring the participant to translate the code and figure the best way to solve the business logic and translate their ideas into code.

Upon asking on the secret of his success, he said that KBU has paved the foundation (fundamental knowledge) required to tackle the different programming scenarios.

The competition is supported by MSC Malaysia and Multimedia Development Corporation Sdn Bhd (MDec).

Contestants from all over the country converged at Wisma Genting in Kuala Lumpur late last year to test their ability and skills in programming. 

Chong’s continuous success proves the quality of the engineering programme at KBU.

KBU International College has enjoyed an extensive collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University, a UK university renowned for its academic excellence and success rate of graduate employability. Through the strategic alliance of eight years, KBU had seen an increase in the number of university’s honours degree programmes delivered by KBU under the “3+0” mode.

KBU graduates have a track record of being headhunted to exciting and rewarding careers in diverse fields ranging from engineering to computing, graphic design to interior architecture & design, all within a short timeframe and in many instances, immediately upon their graduation.

For further details, please contact KBU International College, Bandar Utama, at Tel: 03-77273200 or Fax: 03-77272733 or email: enquiry@kbu.edu.my or visit our website: www.kbu.edu.my. You can also join us at http://facebook.com/kbuinternational.  Alternatively, you can also visit us during the KBU Info Day (17-18^th March 2011) or drop by during KBU Open Day which is scheduled to take place on   24^th-25^th March 2012 from 8.30am-6 pm. 

(This article was also published in The Star, 7 March 2012)

Video Conferencing with a KBU Alumni

6 December 2011

It was a rare and privileged event.  A group of students from the BSc (Hons) Software Engineering had a good chat (through Skype) with Mr Chen Weng Kin, a KBU Alumni who is now based in Shanghai, China.  Weng Kin is currently the President of Jenkins Asia Limited.  He has an impressive resume which included experiences in independently managing cross-culture offshore manufacturing operations covering multiple areas including Quality Assurance, R&D (Mechanical, Electrical, Systems), Engineering and Manufacturing with a good eye for business, change management and risk management.  He has 6 years of experience in developing and engineering US award winning consumer products in China. (15 Best Buys for specialty retail cardiovascular fitness equipment from 2003 to 2008).  He is very passionate and enthusiastic about his work.

During the session with the students and Dr Steve Clark (from Nottingham Trent), Weng Kin shared about his experiences in setting up a company in China.  His sharing was inspirational and motivational.

(Weng Kin was a student at KBU in the HND Electrical and Electronics program from 1992 to 1994.  He completed his BEng (Hons) Electrical and Electronics Engineering at Nottingham Trent University, UK after his HND.)

BSE3J with Dr Steve Clark

( 1 December 2011)

In the recent visit by Dr Steve Clark, Franchise Coordinator from Nottingham Trent University, UK, he met up with the BSc (Hons) Software Engineering, Level 3 students individually.  The discussion focussed on the Final Year Project and their overall feedback on the programme.  During his visit, he also reviewed the Level 1 assessment and the Foundation in Engineering, Science and Technology programme.  Steve will be visiting the College again in the first quarter of 2012.

IBM Smart Cloud Training

 

On 19 November 2011, another group of lecturers and students from the BSc (Hons) Software Engineering attended the IBM Smart Cloud Training.  As part of the selection process for the IBM Smart Cloud Camp, both lecturers and students took an online cloud quiz. All four lecturers and almost all the students were in the top tier of 200, and were selected to receive the complimentary cloud certification (worth US$200), courtesy of IBM.  Most of them passed the certification and awarded the IBM Certified Solution Advisor - Cloud Computing Certification.  Well done!

Hacker Halted Asia Pacific Conference 2011 (Updates)

Dr Christine Lee and Ms Chan Jin Zen (from BSc (Hons) Software Engineering, Level 2) attended the Hacker Halted Asia Pacific Conference 2011 on 15 November 2011 at the InterContinental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.

The Conference Agenda is listed below:

09.00am	Opening
09.15am	Welcome and Opening Keynote: Defending the Frontier 3.0 | Presenter: Jay Bavisi
10.00am	Morning Refreshment
10.30am	I built what? - Why The Bad Guys Do It Better | Presenter: Sean Bodmer Synopsis: For well over a decade cyber-crime has steadily risen at incredible rates across the world. How is this possible with so many law enforcement and security vendors out there trying to solve the problem? Over the past eleven years viruses and trojans have evolved into a never ending deluge of crimeware campaigns. How is this possible? Well let’s talk about that. In this talk you will see first-hand how easy it is for criminals to setup a cyber-crime campaigns including their infrastructure, infection vectors, and building better tools. The goal of any bad guy is to evade detection, remain persistent, and generate revenue. Well let’s talk about all of that and why these criminals become akin to the “The Six Million Dollar Man’ and are very successful @ getting away with their actions.
11.15am	Advanced Forensics Analysis - Why Reverse Engineer? | Presenter: Wayne Burke Synopsis: Understand the need to reverse engineer of the forensics process. Learn advanced methodologies being employed  in the current state of computer forensics. Find out what works and what not. Wayne will be showcasing the latest technologies and methods hackers are employing to cover up their traces, and help you understand why reverse engineering has become an important process in order to unearth hidden tracks.
12.00pm	And you will know us by the trail of our logs Malware research and analysis using logs | Presenter: Zachary Wolff Synopsis: In this talk we will take a proactive approach to malware research and analysis by looking at specific samples and the log trails they leave behind.  In certain cases the exploits that malware utilize will  generate an identifiable log trail, in others it will be the malware’s unique behavioral logs that clues us in .  We will examine some of the more relevant log sources to be looking at and also some ways to proactively capture relevant logs.
12.45pm	Lunch Break
01.45pm	Web Shellz: SQL Injection, and Cross-Site Scripting is Boring – Gimme a command prompt | Presenter: Joe McCray Synopsis: Web shellz are game changers. This presentation will show you how hackers can use vulnerabilities like SQL Injection, Cross-Site Scripting, and File Handling vulnerabilities to obtain command-line access to your critical servers and clients.
02.30pm	Transparent Botnet Command And Control for Smartphones Over Sms | Presenter: Georgia Weidman Synopsis: As smartphones become increasingly ubiquitous and powerful, they become appealing targets for botnet infections. Many of the top selling smartphone platforms are built on common PC operating systems. This makes the transition from developing PC based malware to smartphone based malware nearly trivial. Smartphone malware and specifically botnets have been seen both in security research and in the wild. The GSM modem can be viewed as a public IP address without filtering or firewall capabilities. The presentation shows an example of a smartphone botnet that is controlled over the GSM function SMS. The presented system works at the base operating system below the application layer, resulting in transparency to the user. Details of the system are discussed with particular interest on cryptography and security concerns. A live demonstration of bots with cryptography will be shown as well as a new code release.
03.15pm	Taking On Advanced Persistent Threats | Presenter: Kevin Cardwell Synopsis: One of the many definitions of Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) is the continuous wave of sophisticated and organized cyber attack to access and steal information from compromised computers. So how do we depend against APT? Attacks used by the APT intruders are not very different from any other intruder. Sometimes, attack is the best form of defense. This session will have Kevin teach the audience how to adopt an offensive mindset to provide a robust and solid defense. He will teach you how to develop a secure baseline and “harden” your enterprise architectures from the most advanced attacks.
04.00pm	Afternoon Refreshment
04.30pm	Panel Discussion
05.15pm	Secrets to Hacking: The Challenges, Risks and Rewards | Presenter: Haja Mohideen
06.00pm	Closing Keynote: 9/11: 10 Years Later (How Crisis Intervention and Planning Affect Secure Infrastructures) | Presenter: Drew Williams
06.30pm	Break (Dinner is not included)
07.30pm	Night Hack Live

10.00pm	End

Jin Zen and Dr Lee

Speakers at the Panel Discussion