CYBER-DEFENCE FELLOWSHIPS: Dominique Portenier

• How did you find out about the CYD Fellowships and what motivated you to apply?

I had already done my Bachelor Thesis with the CYD Campus and my supervisor at that time mentioned the possibility. So when I was looking for a Master Thesis in Cyber Security, I decided to give it a shot.

• What was your CYD Fellowship project about?

My project is titled “Building a Fuzzing Framework for the SCION Internet Architecture”. Scion is a future Internet architecture, actively developed by the Network Security Group at ETH Zurich, which solves many of the security and scalability problems we’re facing in today’s Internet. In my thesis, I stress-tested the current SCION implementations, by generating malformed packets.

• What were the advantages of conducting your master thesis project at the CYD Campus?

The biggest advantage is arguably the workspace in the CYD office. It allows frequent exchanges with other students conducting their theses, as well as with the CYD employees.

• Did you as a child dream of working in cyber-defence?

No, I don’t think so. I don’t think that cyber-defence was even in my vocabulary as a child. But I was interested in electronics hardware and computers, and what one could do with them.

• What is driving you to pursue research in cyber-defence?

Tricky question. For me, it’s just really interesting, as I get in touch with many different challenges and often have to work my way through technologies I don’t know at all.

• What is the most important lesson you have learned in your scientific career so far?

The “Heat Map First” Rule! It is an anecdote from a lecture I took about data analytics. The lecturer’s point was to first analyze the data by hand (using a heat map) before training any ML Model. For me it generalizes that often it’s really easy to directly start coding something, but if you take the time to think through your problem and understand the data at hand, you’ll be faster in the end.

• What are you most proud of in your career to date?

My apprenticeship as an electronics engineer. I don’t directly use the things I learned back then on a daily basis, but I got a lot of insights which are still useful today.

• Outside the lab, what do you enjoy doing most?

I enjoy spending time in the mountains. In summer hiking, in winter snowboarding.

• What were your expectations about the CYD Fellowships?

To get a good mixture of technical support for my thesis and to exchange with other students, interns and members of the CYD about their topics and fields.

• Could you share some tips with future applicants who are considering applying for the CYD Fellowships?

Just give it a shot. After the thesis, you have to write applications for a job anyway, so you can already practice. And if it works out, you get a nice place to do your thesis.