CONTENTS

FACULTY CORNER

ALUMNI CORNER

COVER STORY

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

1

3

6

9

11

12

14

16

CANDID INTERVIEW

TETE – A –TETE

DRISHTIKON

URVASHI RATHOD

SWATANTRA GUPTA

MAXIMUS

SOC

CISA

FUTURISTIC MONEY

INS

IDE

GUEST LECTURE

TEAM MATRIX

STRESS MANAGEMENT HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT

Editorial

Hello Everyone,

The year 2013 is awaiting a farewell from us. This is the perfect time of the year to look

back and analyze the activities that happened during the year through. As the team of

Reflections looks back, we find fulfilled plans, we find how consistent process followed

in coming up with the issues helped us to work more conveniently. Now, we can juggle

and shuffle our other tasks and Reflections work, more effectively and all the efforts put

in generate optimum value in minimum time. We are just two year old a magazine. We

have a long path to traverse. But, I am sure, with the efforts of the team members, we

will make the magazine reach new heights in the coming future.

In this issue, read about the innovative event by the Drishtikon called Maximus, which

was successful in boosting the competitive managerial spirit among the participants of

this event. This one day event, I feel, has a potential to become the flagship event of the

institute. Well done guys!

You can find more about the speakers, who visited the campus this month along with the

topics of the speech, the Team Matrix activities this month. Do not forget to read the

alumni this month and the candid interview for sure.

Wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Sadhana Ghalsasi

Chief Editor – SCIT Reflections

1

Rendezvous Reflections Nov 2013

CANDID INTERVIEW

With Urvashi Rathod Ma’am

This issue captures our much loved professor, Urvashi Ma’am, in a candid chit-chat with Varun Mankodi and Aditee Thite.

Aditee: How has your experience with SCIT been?

Ma’am: My experience with SCIT has been good in many aspects. Good in the sense, that it has got very good access to academic material like journals, library, etc. The leadership is good; Dr. Raman understands the importance of academics so it is easier for us to work. Students are good. They not only work hard, but smart as well.

Varun: Any message for the students of SCIT?

Ma’am: I would like to advice students that wisdom cannot be told- it has to earn! Motivation is the key. The students here have to be sometimes more motivated and driven to perform. I feel students should be extremely demanding to get the best of avenues which is in a way good as it pushes the teachers to deliver to the best of their ability. I would love to see the students here to come up with more zeal and vigour towards their pursuit of knowledge. I would like to wish all the students a very Happy New Year and a prosperous future.

Faculty Corner

2

Ma’am: It keeps me engaged.

Reflections Nov 2013 Faculty Corner Rendezvous

Varun: What do you like about SCIT?

Aditee: With all the workload how you keep a balance between your work & personal life?

Ma’am: I would like to answer this question with a story. Once there was a man traveling in his car;

his car broke down at some point. He somehow found a mechanic nearby. The mechanic tried

everything but couldn't fix it to the man's satisfaction. It was quite late so the mechanic asked him to

stay over and told him that he would fix the car next morning. The man agreed. When they reached

the mechanic’s home, the mechanic held the bar at the door before entering. The man had a good

time at the mechanic's place; it was a happy family. The next morning while they were stepping out

for work the mechanic held the bar again. The man was surprised. He asked the mechanic why he

was holding the bar while entering home and leaving. The mechanic replied, "When I reach home, I

have a lot of problems on my mind but when I enter home, I leave all the problems at the door and

when I leave, I collect all the problems from the door. I learnt that from this story.

3

Hello All,

It gives me great pleasure and a sense of privilege to be a part of alumni corner section

of SCIT Reflections magazine. This indeed, is a great platform to connect with all the

readers of magazine.

About me:

I belong to a place called Varanasi. I completed my

schooling from there. I did my Bachelors in Computer

Science & Information technology from MJP Rohilkhand

University, Bareilly. I worked for a year as an Information

Security Consultant with Appin Security Group. I decided

to pursue an MBA, wrote the SNAP exam and got an

admission in the MBA program in the Information

Systems and Security (ISS) stream at Symbiosis Centre

for Information Technology (SCIT). I am currently

working as a Senior Consultant with Government Business Unit of Ernst & Young

LLP, India.

01

SWATANTRA GUPTA

SCIT ALUMNI,

MBA 2009-11

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE

Reflections Nov 2013 Alumni Corner

Alumni Corner

4

Journey @SCIT

SCIT was the only MBA College I had applied to, in order to fulfil my MBA

aspirations. The journey began on June 2nd, 2009 and it was a memorable one. A

whole book can be written about our life at SCIT – it was awesome! From missing

morning classes to attending late evening and Sunday lectures, from preparing for

Graffiti, acting in Eklavya, preparing for presentations to hanging out late nights with

friends. SCIT gifted me with the brightest of minds, best of people and the warmest of

feelings. Giving the valedictory speech was one of the most memorable days of my

life. The ISS 09-11 batch laid the foundations of Team Matrix – a no profit information

security community, with the sole motive of spreading Information Security

awareness. The community continues to grow leaps and bounds.

Role: Ernst & Young is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London,

United Kingdom. I work with the Government Business Unit of the Advisory Services.

I have been working primarily with Government Clients. At EY, I got the opportunity

to work on some of the best Information Systems Audit, Design and Transformation

projects.

Current Domain Information Systems & Security is one of the trending and most sought after careers

today. With businesses going global, the advent of modern computing has made

information security a quintessential part of the information systems life cycle. The

domain focuses on protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of

information through various techniques.

ALUMNI CORNER

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

TETE-E-TETE

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE

Reflections Nov 2013 Alumni Corner Alumni Corner

5

Required Skill set Experience is obviously the most sought after requirement in the field of information

security. In my view, if a person wishes to make a start in this domain the best way to

fill the skill-gap is via education, certification and training. There are a lot of options

nowadays to pursue a Bachelors as well as a Master’s Degree from various Indian

Universities. There are several security certifications in the market to choose from and

certain other decisions that one needs to make. Clearly one needs to make their

decision on the basis of the quality of the awarding body – with the most important

question being, “are they well-known and reputable enough". Another significant

change that has come up in recent years is the Information Security communities,

which have played an instrumental role in mentoring the young minds.

Roadblocks ahead and solutions

The Information Security domain may seem to be a jazzy kind of domain with terms

like ethical hacking and reverse engineering. The main roadblock that one faces is the

business understanding of the domain, in which the security technologies have to be

implemented. A solution in one sector might be irrelevant to another domain, simply

because the business requirements may be completely different. Hence, it’s of prime

importance that one does his/her study of the domain, understands it and apply the

theoretical concepts of security appropriately.

Message to the current batch Explore! This is one word that I would say to you. When you are in college you get a

platform to hone your skills. Network with like-minded people and focus on learning.

With all this Gyaan, do not ever miss out on the fun that this phase of life brings. These

days will never be back, I couldn’t resist quoting what I always say about SCIT – That

was life, and rest are details… Be Bold and Be Original! Seize the day!

ALUMNI CORNER

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

TETE-E-TETE

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE

Reflections Nov 2013 Alumni Corner Alumni Corner

6

DRISHTIKON, the Management Club of Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology (SCIT) needs no introduction. As part of the numerous events organized by them this year, was Maximus - The Best Manager Competition. It aimed at giving a chance to the students of SCIT to display their unique skills which gave them an edge over the others to become the best managers. This being the flagship event of the year 2013, the preparations began in full swing right from September. The tasks were divided amongst the various members and the event planning began. The senior members of Drishtikon guided and helped the 2013 batch in every step; mentoring them to take charge of the club in the coming year. The event was designed to have four rounds, each of which targeted a different quality in a manager or a leader. Each round was assigned to a team of two members of the events team who were in-charge of designing the same. Each team worked with great enthusiasm to draft very unique rounds. The mentors helped the junior team understand the nitty-gritty of event organization. The finance team drafted the budget and targets for the sponsorship team. The event and the logistic team worked close together to finalize the requirement of each stage. The PR team too started publicizing the event to gather maximum participation. With the support of our director and chief mentor of Drishtikon, Dr. Raman, and the Faculty members, this event was conducted on the 23rd of November. Mentors like Urvashi ma'am, Sadhana ma'am, Anuradha ma'am, Angelina ma'am, Shaji sir, Saravan sir and Sudhir sir played a very important role in the event planning by helping the event organizers improve on the rounds and draft the judging criteria. On the day of the event, participants assembled in the assembly hall and

Reflections Nov 2013 Cover Story

MAXIMUS Maximus!

Aditee Thite MBA 2013-2015

7

were prepared to give their best shot to win it. The inauguration of the event was done with a short speech by Director Sir, following which all the rounds begun. Round one was a paper based round comprising of two sub parts - the first part tested the analytical skills of each participant through multiple choice questions of logical reasoning. The second part was a situation reaction test which evaluated the participants on how they would react to a given scenario when put in a manager's shoes. This round was carried by projecting each question for a given time (varying based on the difficulty) but had equal weight-age in terms of the marks allotted. Round two was a thematic appreciation test which was carried out in two stages again. In stage one, a picture was shown for 30 seconds which the participants had to observe carefully. Participants did not need to describe the picture but they had to imagine what possibly could have led to the shown picture. They were given one minute to write down the details like Title of the story, gender of the characters they saw, their age and mood (Positive/Negative/Neutral). After the initial description was written, another three minutes were provided to write down a story based on the picture seen. In stage two, participants were divided into groups of six and had to individually narrate the story they wrote to the judges. This was followed by a group discussion which aimed at arriving at a common story for that group. The motto of the group discussion was to make a common story out of the picture shown. Each individual was assessed on the grounds of his/her observation, perception, and creativity, sensibility of the story and communication skills. At the end of round two some participants were eliminated and the rest moved to the next round. Both, round three and four were based on a case study. In round three, the participants had to read and analyze the case and come up with a solution for the same. Each participant was given 40 minutes to analyze the case and prepare a presentation which was to be presented before the panel of judges. At the end of this round six finalists moved on to round four. Round four also had two stages, board room discussion and the press conference. Participants had to assume roles of the

Reflections Nov 2013 Cover Story MAXIMUS

8

board members like Chairman, CEO, COO, CFO, etc. and had to face the press in the same role. The finalists had a very out of the ordinary discussion in the board room and covered many different aspects of the situation given. Also, each of them had assumed their respective board room roles flawlessly in the press conference and answered each question tactfully. When asked about the case study, Swapnil Kelaskar, one of the finalists said, "We all were presented with a case study on a family business facing crisis. While making a business decision we faced a moral dilemma whether to stick to traditional family business or embrace the change. The situation really tested us as managers and gave us a taste of the many issues real managers go through. We really loved the experience and the learning was immense". The judges clearly had a tough time deciding the winners as all the finalists presented their valid opinions in a crisp and concise manner. Finally, after a big discussion, Rose Ann Boben was announced as the winner and the runners up were Karthik N and Swapnil K. The winners were awarded a certificate of merit and coupons from the sponsors, Hotel Tamanna. The first prize winner also received a cash prize of Rs. 3000 given by the Dr. Raman. All the rounds were executed very smoothly and were enjoyed by the participants. Tushar Kasale, one of the finalists in his congratulatory mail to the organizing team said, "Congratulations! Team Drishtikon , for organizing such a wonderful event. Kudos to the efforts you guys put for making this event success. I personally enjoyed and learned a lot from this event. All rounds of the event were really exciting and equally challenging. Congratulations once again and all the best in future ". Even after a long hectic day everyone had a big sense of accomplishment (both participants and organizers), as each of them had acquired a new set of learning to take home that day.

Reflections Nov 2013 Cover Story MAXIMUS

9

Stress is one of the major problems that the youth of our country are going through; therefore

managing it is a challenge in itself. Stress management starts with identifying the sources of

stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. Your true source of stress isn’t always

obvious, and it’s all too easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and

behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But

maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress.

To help the students overcome this problem, SCIT organized three-session Stress Management

program under the guidance of Ms. Tejwinder Kaur. The first session was conducted on 2nd of

December and dedicated to personality development on three aspects: Communication,

Presentation and Perception. To make the thing obvious, the session started with a real life

scenario: “What if you are in a very important meeting, your laptop fails and you can’t access to

your power point presentation you made for the meeting?” The answer to this problem was

quite obvious: “Power Point or no Power Point, there should be power in your point”. There is a

solution to every problem, but sometimes you need to dig deep within to find it.

When you go for an interview, it is observed that the interviewer creates a perception about you

within 15 seconds you enter the room. This perception is regulated by a French word

abbreviated as R.S.V.P. which means Repondez, S’il Vous Plait or Please Reply. In the

dictionary of personality development R.S.V.P. is Repeat, Speed, Volume, and Pitch.

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings

Guest Lecture

Abhinav Singh Parihar MBA 2013-2015

MS. TEJWINDER KAUR on -

“Stress Management”

10

It is the key ingredient for a perfectly impressive personality recipe. You can regulate your

impression by control over R.S.V.P. There were several examples given to prove the point. The

great Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan is better known for his impressive voice than his

personality. The way you speak, punctuations and pauses and the body language sets the

positive momentum in the observer.

The first session ended with a game of sharpness. The students were asked to cut down twenty

blubs out of an A4 size paper sheet and the blubs must hold hands of one another. So the

session ended with fun and left students awaited for the other two.

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings Guest Lecture

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings Guest Lecture

11

T

A guest lecture about an introduction to Human Resource Management was organised on 16th November. The speaker for the afternoon was Mr. Philip Coelho, Sr. Vice President HR (retd) Kalyani Carpenters and Special Steels Ltd. He holds degrees in Philosophy, Sociology, Personnel Management and Commerce. Mr. Coelho started his lecture with a brief introduction about himself and his background. His witty remarks were an early indication that the lecture was going to be one fascinating experience for all those gathered there. His amazing lecture delivery style and fantastic oratory skills immediately grabbed the attention of one n all. He spoke about Human Capital Management and focused on the importance of Human Resources for an organisation. He often mentioned that he has loved and practiced HR all his life. Marking a quote from Albert Einstein, ‚Education is not about learning facts. Education is learning to think‛ grabbed the attention of all the students. He said, ‚An MBA program will and is supposed to teach you how to think.‛ A narration of a short story made the students think about their approach towards going about their tasks. He also said, ‚When you are doing something, you should be there in that moment. Do what you love. It is all about doing what you love to do.‛ After that a reference to a very famous poem ‘The road not taken’ by Robert Frost was made by him to acquaint the young minds with the beautiful thoughts of the great poet. He also spoke about leadership by giving various examples of successful men and women. He then narrated a story about enthusiasm and success. When questioned about his personal likings, Mr. Coelho said with a broad smile and a childlike enthusiasm, ‚I love to fly... I frequently fly Gliders...‛ As the lecture concluded, Mr. Shaji Joseph said, ‚Mr. Philip Coelho has taken this lecture to an altogether higher level and on behalf of SCIT, I would like to thank Mr. Coelho for this wonderful sharing of thoughts.‛ It was one such guest lecture which ended with the students craving for more.

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings

Guest Lecture Rugved Pankaj Mehta MBA 2013-2015

MR. PHILIP COELHO on - “Human Capital Management”

12

A

TEAM MATRIX – SOC

Team Matrix, a community of Information Security enthusiasts at SCIT organized a session

on Security Operations Center (SOC), unique attacks on SOC and career opportunities in

Information Security for the students on November 16, 2013 as part of its monthly session.

The speaker of the session was Mr. Kirtar Oza, Manager (Information Security) at Infosys

Ltd.

He began the session by advising the students to

inculcate the right attitude within them along with the

knowledge that they gain while pursuing the MBA-

ITBM degree and also sustain the same at their

respective workplace in future.

While quoting about the recent credit card frauds,

sleeper cells in various countries and caller ID

spoofing, he spoke about the need of Information

Security professionals and the skill set required.

He then gave a demonstration of Caller ID Spoofing

and Voice Changing using the tool CrazyCall. He

also informed the students about E-Mail ID and IP

Address spoofing. Post that, he demonstrated a live

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings

Team Matrix

Akshay Deshpande MBA 2013-2015

13

Microsoft Windows website (Windows Media Player) that was vulnerable to Cross Site

Scripting (XSS).

He recommended the students to read Bruce Schneier‘s (American cryptographer, computer

security and privacy specialist) books on Applied Cryptography and Accessing Security

Systems.

He gave a very important food for thought to the students by saying that Security should

enable the business and not stop it therefore the security measures that we implement should

be practical and feasible.

He then touched upon concept of Security Operations Center (SOC), the need of SOC,

elements of SOC, SOC processes viz. Monitoring and Log Analysis, Incident Management

and Response, Reporting and People Management.

Thereafter, he discussed security incidents related to Domain Name Server (DNS), Open

Resolver Blues, Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attack, TCPIP Handshake and

unauthorized calls through Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) gateway.

Towards the end of the session, he advised students regarding career orientation,

understanding wherein lies the inclination (process/technology), choosing a profile (VAPT,

Consulting, Architecture Design, Web Application Developer, Security Architecture) and

keeping long term goals in mind.

He ended the session on a promising note saying “Information Security should be a

balancing act and an Info Sec professional should be an interface between Information

Security and Business”, thus leaving the students enlightened and asking for more such

knowledge sharing sessions.

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings TEAM MATRIX

14

INTRODUCTION TO CISA

Team Matrix, a community of Information Security enthusiasts at SCIT organized a session

on CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor) exam for SCIT aspirants on November

25, 2013 as part of its monthly session. The session was conducted by Gaurav Thorat –

President, ISACA Student Group and Sadasivan N G – Vice President, ISACA Student

Group, both MBA-ITBM second year students at SCIT. The session was also attended by

2013 batch alumnus Mr. Hammad Malik, who is also a CISA.

The session also included an introduction to SCIT ISACA Student Group and CISA

Study Group.

Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), awarded by the Information Systems Audit

and Control Association (ISACA) is a globally recognized certification in the field

of audit, control and security of information systems. CISA gained worldwide acceptance

having uniform certification criteria, a high degree of visibility and recognition in the fields

of IT security, IT audit, IT risk management and governance.

Sadasivan, who recently cleared his CISA talked about the examination structure, CISA

review manual overview, 5 domains of CISA, exam registration, preparation tips,

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings

Team Matrix

Akshay Deshpande MBA 2013-2015

15

approach methodology, examination study material and reference books. Hammad Malik

also joined him and shared his valuable experience regarding the right strategy to study and

crack the exam.

Thereafter, Sadavisan informed the students about the proposal of forming a CISA Study

Group for CISA aspirants whom he will mentor and guide in preparing for the exam. He

suggested that the group members can help each in doubt solving sessions on a regular basis

and exchange study materials.

In the final half of the session, Gaurav Thorat talked about the SCIT ISACA Student Group,

ISACA’s first officially recognized student group in India. Formed by a set of likeminded

Information Security enthusiasts, it aims to provide all student members enrolled at SCIT,

greater career insight and networking opportunities in the areas of information security and

assurance, IT risk management, audit, compliance and information systems. The student

group is recognized by ISACA International and supported by the ISACA Pune chapter.

He also talked about ISACA Student membership, its benefits, ISACA Pune Chapter

seminars, conferences and volunteering activity.

Overall, it was a very insightful session and inspired students to aim high and achieve big.

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings TEAM MATRIX

16

Fenlightedsss

THE FUTURISTIC MONEY

In the era of digitalization, everything is going digital. We have traversed from the era of

automation to optimization. The Matrix event saw a new concept – Bitcoin!

Bitcoin is a consensus system that enables a new payment system and is based on the concept of digital money. It is the original decentralized peer-to-peer payment network which is driven by its users with no central authority, banks or middlemen. From a user point of view, Bitcoin is very much like cash for the Internet.

Bitcoin is the execution of a concept called “crypto-currency”, which was first explained in 1998 by Wei Dai, signifying the idea of a new form of currency that uses cryptography to control its conception and transactions, rather than a central authority.

Bitcoins can be acquired through various methods such as payment for goods or services, purchasing them at a Bitcoin exchange, exchanging them with someone near you or by earning them through competitive “mining”. By now, 11 million Bitcoins are in existence and once this figure hits 22 million, “mining” of Bitcoin would cease. The currency is finite in number to keep inflation rates low. Also as the cryptography feature is there, the currency cannot be easily counterfeited.

In 2009, the Genesis Block was established, the first transaction was carried out, the exchange rate was published and there were two versions of Bitcoin that were launched. The Bitcoin market was established in 2010 and the creation of “MT GOX”, the most widely used bitcoin currency exchange market, triggered the launch of version 3 as well as led to a significant rise in the exchange rates of Bitcoin. In 2011 the Tonal Bitcoin units, a representation of the Bitcoin network aimed to provide a use-case for acceptance of

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings

Team Matrix

Neelesh Ranjan MBA 2013-2015

17

Bitcoin, were standardized. Bitcoin by then was in parity with the US Dollar. Android has a fully functioning wallet application for Bitcoin. Bitcoins are lucrative because of:

Payment freedom Very low fees Fewer risks for merchants Security and control Transparent and neutral

The future certainly lies in the optimization of resources. We have already learnt how the future is of plastic currency. However, few classical problems still existed. Bitcoin has the potential to nullify them.

Amomg the developments that were going in the world of Bitcoin, there were certain mishaps that also took place. In 2010, a major vulnerability was encountered wherein Bitcoin transactions were being blocked. In 2011, EFF stopped accepting BTC for legal reasons and the MT GOX was compromised wherein the user table was leaked which had thousands of usernames and corresponding password hashes. In 2012, over 1 Million Accounts were Compromised and $350k Stolen by Hackers in one week. Thus we can see the disadvantages as:

Degree of acceptance Volatility Ongoing development Supply and demand of Bitcoins is not supervised by any central authority and thus there is

low liquidity Bitcoin dealings are not easily observable; laundering of money & illegal online

transactions become easy.

Thus, some concern-areas Bitcoin needs to address are that of anonymity versus privacy, whether Bitcoin is really the future currency, role of Bitcoins in micropayments and many more. However, the success of Bitcoins in the time to come mainly depends on the assumptions that Bitcoins will be able to help the general public the same way as

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings Team Matrix

18

cash,provide ample security features, address tax liability issues and the presence of a central regulatory authority.

Team Matrix successfully brought this new concept in we were enlightened us to see the future of money.

Reflections Nov 2013 Events & Happenings Team Matrix

EDITORS

DESIGN

Akshay Deshpande

MBA 2013 - 15

Garmina Bansal

MBA 2013 - 15

Anubha Purwar

MBA 2013 - 15

Khushboo Srivastava

MBA 2013 - 15

Saharsh Sahai

MBA 2013 - 15

Gargi Shukla

MBA 2013 - 15

Pratik Beedkar

MBA 2012- 14

Mayur Pawa

MBA 2012- 14

Pratik Vimal

MBA 2012 - 14

Sarfaraz Khan

MBA 2013 - 15

MEDIA

CORRESPONDENTS

Biswajit Mondal

MBA 2013- 15

Sarvesh Deshpande

MBA 2013 - 15

Neeraj Rai

MBA 2012- 14

Varun Mandoki

MBA 2012- 14

Abhinav Parihar

MBA 2013 - 15

Neelesh Ranjan

MBA 2013 - 15

Ruchi Nandita

MBA 2012 - 14

Priti Patil

MBA 2013 - 15

Aditee Thite

MBA 2013 - 15

Rugved Mehta

MBA 2013 - 15

Rohit Ranjan

MBA 2013 - 15

Apoorva Siloiya

MBA 2013 - 15