Internship Highlight–Mufaro Shumba

Hi CSS family,

My name is Mufaro Shumba. I am a sophomore at the University of Maryland. My major is Computer Science. This past summer,  I worked as a REU Fellow in Cybersecurity in the Research Experience for Undergraduates program at Bowie State University. I worked with two faculty mentors and two fellow undergraduate students on a project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). We used machine learning to uncover cyber threat intelligence in the dark-net.

The research project lasted about 10 weeks (from May to July). During my fellowship, I collaborated with students from a wide range of disciplines in  the Summer Undergraduate Research Institute at Bowie State. I learned about the importance of cyber threat intelligence in the professional world, and delved into a deep study of  threats present in the dark-net. Essentially, I worked as a data scientists and received training on the tools used in the field: such as TensorFlow and WEKA. I use these tools in my own research on cyber security. Moreover, this research experience developed my technical writing and communication skills through weekly research presentations. My group and I were challenged to effectively communicate our research findings to audiences outside our fields and to the general population. My experience as a REU Fellow in Cybersecurity has also made me a stronger student in my studies on campus. Through my research internship, I acquired stronger and more effective strategies for  initiating projects, problem solving, and managing stress.

I am proud to have contributed to a research study that effectively utilized machine learning to discover cyber threat intelligence. On top of invaluable research experience, I gained important friendships, mentors, and peers during my professional development experience as a REU Fellow in Cybersecurity. For example, I had the pleasure of meeting and connecting with Dr. Aminta H. Breaux, the president of Bowie State University. My summer research experience at Bowie State University sharpened my data science skills and prepared me to become a stronger student and future professional in the  data science industry.

CSS Team Leader, Mufaro Shumba