Bringing My MSIT Experience to Cloud Security at Oracle

This past October, Siddharth Bhola (MSIT '19) was contacted on LinkedIn by a technical recruiter from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). The recruiter connected him with a hiring manager to discuss details about an open role on the technical staff of the company's cloud security team.

The position was closely aligned with the professional goals Siddharth wanted to pursue. The team is focused on revolutionizing how security is managed at scale by identifying and mitigating security vulnerabilities as early as possible in the software development process and operations so that the services and infrastructure used to build a cloud is secure from the get-go.

Siddharth started his new role in mid-February. He recently took a few minutes to talk about the position and what lessons he hopes to implement from his time in Northwestern Engineering's Master of Science in Information Technology (MSIT) program.

How do you describe your new role at Oracle?

I am working as a member of technical staff on the Cloud Security Team at OCI. I oversee the design, development, and delivery of major software components to automate the end-to-end process of detecting, analyzing, mitigating, and reporting security threats on the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure.

Our goal is to revolutionize how security is managed at scale by addressing security vulnerabilities as early as possible in the cycle of software development and operation so that the services and infrastructure used to build a cloud is secure from inception. Some of my responsibilities include:

• Developing data ingestion and analysis solutions
• Designing, deploying, and operating security pipeline and cloud-scale security tools
• Consulting across different software development teams for attack-vector modeling
• Working with ethical hacking and offensive security teams to discover and resolve security issues

What was it about the job that appealed to you?

The most important thing for me was the team and what it is focused on. OCI Security is solving some of the toughest challenges involved in securing a heterogeneous and an ever-growing cloud environment by taking a bottom-up approach for security and autonomy. I am excited to be a part of Oracle’s journey to build a second-generation cloud.

Do you know what it was about your LinkedIn profile that stood out?

I believe that the team was looking for a candidate with strong software-development skills along with good knowledge and understanding of information security. I would say that my prior software-development experience, including my two internships during my time in the MSIT program, as well as the coursework and projects I pursued at Northwestern, definitely helped my profile get attention on LinkedIn.

What are the most important lessons you learned during your time at MSIT?

One principle that was reinforced during my time at MSIT was that practice makes things better, and it applies to all parts of life. The more we practice, the more we can improve ourselves. This also helps us gain awareness and act on how we can leverage our weaknesses and turn them into strengths. Most of the MSIT courses, as well as other CS and ECE courses at Northwestern, are designed to give regular and weekly assignments that include study material as well as practice problems. This structure helped me realize that the more time I spend on any activity, the better I get at it. So, I started applying this principle in other areas as well, like practicing interviews, my communication skills, and even fun stuff like cooking new dishes.

In what ways do you think you'll be able to incorporate that lesson into your new role?

I will try to apply this "practice" principle in all parts of my life, especially in my daily work, which involves software design and development as well as cross-functional team collaboration and communication.

What was it about MSIT that first appealed to you?

In addition to the prestigious reputation of Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering, MSIT's curriculum and the unique program structure was what appealed to me the most.  

What advice would you give to current or prospective students about how to maximize their time in MSIT?

I would advise both current and prospective students to select their course curriculum according to their areas of interest and how they can utilize it for the future. When in doubt, always talk with your MSIT advisors. They will guide you well. And keep your LinkedIn profile up-to-date!