Sammy T
- Research Program Mentor

MS at Columbia University

Expertise

Cybersecurity (offensive and defensive), cloud technologies, DevOps, automation, Python, operating systems

Bio

My name is Sammy Tbeile. I discovered my passion for computer science and engineering while playing with an Arduino in High School. After graduating, I went on to study Computer Engineering at Columbia University. During my junior year, I took a course on Secure Software Development and fell in love with cybersecurity. I went on to complete my MS at Columbia in Computer Security. After graduating, I worked as a security researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory before getting married and moving to New York where I became a Security Engineer at OkCupid. I'm intensely passionate about cybersecurity and can frequently be found reading textbooks on new topics, working on personal projects, or testing out my skills in cyber ranges like HackTheBox. When I'm not doing cyber stuff, I enjoy traveling with my wife and child, listening to podcasts, reading, and playing Dungeons and Dragons. I'm also incredibly passionate about mentorship and helping others find their way in cybersecurity or computer science in general

Project ideas

Project ideas are meant to help inspire student thinking about their own project. Students are in the driver seat of their research and are free to use any or none of the ideas shared by their mentors.

Python Port Scanner

A port scanner (such as nmap) is a common tool for reconnaissance in security testing. The idea is simple: given a domain name, scan it to see which ports are open. This project is a good introduction to network communication, error handling, and threading. Variants can be made in other programming languages as well

Coding skills

Python, rust, c, c++, bash, JavaScript, ruby, go

Languages I know

Hebrew, intermediate

Teaching experience

I have been involved in teaching since high school where I led study groups that eventually became grade wide review sessions and curriculum development. In college, I served as a tutor and TA. Post-college, I've taught classes on secure coding and Malware Analysis at all of my job

Credentials

Work experience

OkCupid (2019 - Current)

Senior Security Engineer

MIT Lincoln Laboratory (2018 - 2019)

Security Researcher

Vestorly (2016 - 2016)

Software Engineering Intern

Good St (2014 - 2018)

Lead Developer

Education

Columbia University

BS Bachelor of Science (2018)

Computer engineering