New Cybersecurity and Privacy Thread Welcomes Its First Alum

Although it’s only been offered for one academic year, Georgia Tech’s new Cybersecurity & Privacy (C&P) Thread in the Bachelor of Science in Computer Science program has its first graduate.

When senior Aliyah Crumbley found out about the new thread last summer, she was determined to complete it before walking the stage this May.

“I work in the College of Computing’s advising office, so I heard some buzz about it before the official announcement,” said Crumbley. “I started bugging my advisor about it right away and changed threads as soon as I officially could.”

Some of the courses in her other thread, Information Internetworks, overlapped with Cybersecurity and Privacy. When it came time to make the change, Crumbley had to carefully plan her last two semesters at Georgia Tech.

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One of the new courses added to her schedule was ECE 4117: Introduction to Malware Reverse Engineering with Associate Professor Brendan Saltaformaggio. Although she was initially nervous, the course quickly became one of her favorites.

[Threads: A Better Way to Learn Computing]

“The class made me use my brain in a way I hadn’t before,” said Crumbley. “Professor Saltaformaggio knows how difficult the course can be and is open to questions to help as much as possible.”

“As a professor, Aliyah is the kind of student you hope for—the one who asks deep, thoughtful questions in class,” said Saltaformaggio. “The questions that make the professor pause and consider all the lessons that could be sparked by answering that one question. On more than one occasion, my lectures went on a scholarly exploration of the ideas that Aliyah brought up. The classroom is richer with students like Aliyah.”

After reflecting on her time at the College of Computing, Crumbley is grateful for the opportunity to learn from the experienced professors during her undergraduate program. Her experience in the classroom was always positive, and she admired their professionalism. 

“I am really glad Georgia Tech is staying up to date with everything in the computing world,” said Crumbley. “They were willing to develop this thread and bring courses from the master’s degree to the undergrad program. It opened my eyes to what I really wanted to do with my computing degree. I think it is a great addition.”

After walking the stage this week, Crumbley will begin preparing to start her new job as a JPMorgan Chase & Co. software engineer in the Asset and Wealth Management division. She will help the company integrate artificial intelligence technology into data management and analytics.