Student Interviews

Mitsuru Nakao

In order to apply my knowledge to the real world, I came to this graduate school where I can learn practical skills. The experience of studying with mature students was also highly valued in my job hunting.

I enrolled to IISEC, because I was interested in network security

I read cryptography at university, but my original interest was in network-related security. After graduation, I spent a year studying with a professor at another university who was well known in this field. Then, I decided to enter this graduate school to gain the knowledge and skills that I could apply directly to business. While specialising in information security, the course covers everything from technology to management, which is a major attraction not found in other graduate schools. I also learnt about the importance of management. Proper management is required for the widespread use of security-enhancing technologies. There were also many opportunities for practical training, such as experiencing attacks and defences over the network, which gave me useful skills for the workplace.

Realistic lectures and exercises based on examples provided by companies

I chose modules with reference to the System Design course and also took the enPiT practical courses in order to acquire skills that I could use in practice. I liked the fact that we were able to work closely with companies to analyse real-world examples of security issues and learn from them. Also, the fact that I have taken modules in law and management, attracted a lot of attention in my job search. My Master's dissertation will be on malware analysis and will focus on efficient classification methods. I would like to consider an accurate classification method that corresponds to the current situation of malware, where variants are available in large numbers and multiple different malicious activities are implemented.

IISEC's education is highly regarded by companies

In job interviews, information security management was a very hot topic, more than I expected. On the operational side, the focus seemed to be on governance issues, such as how to instil security awareness among employees. I realise through the strength of this postgraduate course, that I am able to study information security broadly, including such perspectives. I am studying with mature students from a variety of companies and government offices, and took part in a month-long internship in a company. Thanks to these experiences, I was praised in my job search for my "good communication skills and work ethic". I also took a look at what my classmates and seniors in IISEC had to say about the companies they worked for, and decided to work for KDDI Corporation, where I currently have a job offer.

Mitsuru Nakao
Mitsuru Nakao
Graduated from Konan University, Department of Intelligence and Informatics
Received an offer from KDDI Corporation (as of May 2014)
Enrolled in April 2013
Back to the list of student interviews