SLIIT Cyber Security degree, has produced yet another student achiever, Nakarajah Thuvakaran who was also the recipient of the recent Facebook Bug Bounty programme. He subsequently received a monetary prize of USD500, and was listed under the 2018 Bug Bounty Researchers list on the Facebook White- Hat Page. Nakarajah has brought fame to SLIIT and Sri Lanka, by being the first Sri Lankan to achieve this status in the year 2018. Popularly known as the ‘White-Hat Programme’ or a Vulnerability Rewards Programme (VRP), it is a crowd-sourcing initiative that rewards individuals for discovering and reporting software bugs. Many software vendors and websites run bug bounty programmes, paying out cash rewards to software security researchers and white-hackers (ethical hackers) who report software vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited. 

Bug reports must document enough information for the organisation offering the bounty to be able to reproduce the vulnerability. ‘Through SLIIT’s MSc and BSc Cyber Security programs, we believe in enabling students to be on par with global standards as it gives them exposure to international brands and organizations as the concept has yet to gain ground within Sri Lankan organizations. This gives potential students a limitless opportunities to explore their capabilities in an area which has much scope globally.” stated Professor Chandimal Jayawardane, Dean of the Faculty of Computing. Elaborating further on the subject of the SLIIT Cyber Security program, Dr. Pradeep Abeygunawardane, Head of Information Systems, Faculty of Computer said, “We are proud of the achievement by our own student as achievement at international level is not easy.

SLIIT Cyber Security degree program enables students to participate in such competitions and programs during their course of study. As part the compulsory course content of the Information Security project SLIIT students are required to involve themselves in the bug bounty programs. Therefore, such a achievement by our students means that our programs are at international standards. While congratulating him, I am really proud of our cyber security program” ‘We are continuously assisting our students, with the aim of helping them achieve international levels of recognition in the field of cyber-security. We also consistently motivate them to up-scale their talents in this area, so they may bring in value to the country as well as the organisations they are employed at. Hence, we have created a curriculum which is on par with international standards.

Nakarajah Thuvakaran’s achievement is a direct result of this best practice in our curriculum and academic delivery,’ stated Lakmal Rupasinghe, BSc/MSc Cyber Security Co-ordinator, Faculty of Computing. ‘The lecturers for the SLIIT cyber-security degree have been instrumental in crafting my interest in this sphere, and I am grateful for it. Although, cyber-security and bug bounty programmes are yet to capture Sri Lankan organisations, we as students of SLIIT, gain access to all the internationally renowned bug bounty programmes which has enhanced our knowledge in the field,’ stated the award-winner Nakarajah, adding that ‘SLIIT’s innovative approach to cyber-security studies, has compelled students to test their skills in various areas of expertise and opened a portal for achievements within global websites and organisations.’

The SLIIT Faculty of Computing provides a wide range of IT related courses to choose from. Students are granted the opportunity to follow the most suitable course of study pertaining to their interest and career objectives. With a professional panel of lecturers, dedicated to providing the best knowledge, state-of-the art computer laboratories and practical learning experiences, the Faculty of Computing at SLIIT is the most suited environment to enhance computer knowledge. The computer degrees awarded by SLIIT are approved by the University Grants Commission and the institute is also a Member of the Associat ion of Commonwealth Universities and International Association of Universities (IAU). Interested students have the added option of participating in the Curtin University Offshore programmers in Sri Lanka at SLIIT, or opt to complete their degrees at one of SLIIT’s partner universities in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.