Student Interviews

Koji Uno

I joined an audit firm because I wanted to specialise in the field of IT. Enrolling in this graduate school was a great help when I changed my job.

The motivation and drive to enrol in a postgraduate course was appreciated in my new job

I wanted to be an information security professional. I used to work in a completely different industry, but I planned to change my job to a company involved in information security. I applied to work in the information security sector because it looked promising, but I did not get a good response at the company interview. This is why I decided to enter a graduate school, to "improve my expertise first." I chose IISEC because I felt that this school offers reliable education. There is a variety of lectures, including audition, law, technology, and cryptography. I was also attracted by the opportunity to study with students from the University of Tokyo and Keio University. Fortunately, I did not need to wait until I had completed my Master's course and was able to change my job in June, just after entering this school. I think my motivation and drive to enrol in a postgraduate course has also been appreciated by my new company.

Examining various data erasure methods on storage media

My research theme is the verification of data erasure methods on HDDs and SSDs. I was interested in cyber investigations by the police, so I decided to focus on data erasure in my research. I joined Prof. Doi's research lab, because he is active in the Digital Forensics Research Group. There are a number of standards for data erasure methods on storage media. I am experimenting to see which can safely and reliably erase data and which can finish the task in a practical time. In addition, I am conducting a survey of companies to find out about the current state of data erasure when disposing of or recycling HDDs, with the aim of creating my own guidelines.

IISEC students are able to gain specialised + broad knowledge

I enjoyed the omnibus lectures given by different lecturers at IISEC, such as "Information Security Special Lectures". Apart from my own research field, I also actively took technical courses despite my humanities background, in order to systematically learn about information security. This broad knowledge acquired has helped me in my current job. However, balancing work and study at the same time was not easy. When I was in my first year, I managed to leave the office on time and make it to the start of 5th period at 18:20. Now in my second year, I do a couple of hours of research at home after work, and come to the school less often. In close contact with my supervisor, Prof. Doi, I am currently preparing to write my Master's thesis.

Koji Uno
Koji Uno
Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC
Enrolled in April 2014
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