Henning Ziegler is one of the best young hackers in Germany. Together with four other students from Berlin, Karlsruhe and Constance, the informatics student from the University of Bremen was recently among the winners of the “Cyber Security Challenge Germany” held in Berlin. The competition is an initiative for the promotion of young professionals in the computer branch. The prize, awarded by a scientific institution and two private firms, is funded by the German Ministry for the Economy and Energy. On October 21, the winning team of five IT security experts will be in Lucerne, Switzerland, to compete against teams from all over Europe.
Put yourself in the attacker’s shoes
When we think of hackers, we often have a picture in our minds of hooded figures involved in shady dealings. They steal credit-card data, smuggle their way into corporate networks, and cause harm to government agencies and enterprises alike. Henning Ziegler can only laugh about such stereotyped misconceptions. “They’re just clichés created by the media”, he says. “Hackers can also be good guys, and I’m one of those.” The 26-year-old from Delmenhorst prefers to turn his expertise to uncovering security gaps in computers and computer networks. “To do this successfully I have to put slip into the role of the attacker”, he says. “Where is the security gap that will give me access?” In his case, the sole purpose is to close the gap – once he’s found it.
Master thesis on Android apps
Ziegler studied informatics to Bachelor in Oldenburg. For his Master’s he decided to specialize in IT security and quality. “I had already done quite a bit in this area, watched a lot of films and read a lot”, he says. “It’s a fascinating subject.” Henning Ziegler then found what he was looking for at the University of Bremen, where he is now working on his Master thesis under the supervision of Dr. Karsten Sohr. His project is a study of the efficiency of data coding in selected Android apps.
Cracking security barriers
The competition in Berlin involved competing against high-school and university students in groups of two. He was rather surprised they were all male. “It’s clearly still a male preserve”, says the Master student. In the final match, the teams had to spend eight hours concentrating on cracking data security barriers. For instance, as part of a “forensic task” the hackers had to do some police work in a simulated attack on a private firm. “We were given a picture of the computer together with its data and memory contents, and we simply had to work our way through it all”, is how he describes the strategy employed.
“Iii, sunlight!”
Henning Ziegler has to laugh about the picture we have of a pimpled-faced nerd looming over his computer, with a pile of empty pizza cartons on the table. “We like to joke among ourselves about this sort of thing”, he says. You often hear calls of: “Iii, sunlight!”
Offered job during the Praxisbörse
Ziegler is totally convinced that in times of increased networking and computerization there is going to be fast-growing demand for young professionals in the field of cyber security. “For example, large networks like Industry 4.0”, he says. IT security experts can look forward to rosy career prospects. He could see this for himself during the University’s Praxisbörse, where he easily found a job offer. After completing his Master’s in November, Henning Ziegler will start work in a Bremen firm belonging to the “team neusta” in the Überseestadt. He’s really looking forward to it.
