Brendan Masiar

Major: B.S. Philosophy ’11, M.P.S. Cybersecurity
Hometown:
East Islip, NY
Brendan Masiar, M.P.S. Cybersecurity

After graduating from UMBC in 2011 with a Bachelor’s in Philosophy, Brendan Masiar came right back to pursue his passion for Computer Science. He chose UMBC’s graduate program in Cybersecurity because he saw it as “a perfect blend of [his] humanities and technical background.” In Fall 2012, he was chosen as one of UMBC’s inaugural  NSF Scholarship for Service CyberCorps program scholars.

“I love that the field is constantly developing and evolving,” says Brendan of Cybersecurity. “There is no definitive end point to cybersecurity, ” he says, “some new attack vector will always be out there.” Brendan thinks cell phones and mobile devices that enable us to do things like online banking, checking mail, and other private tasks, are our biggest cyber threat. “The risk for data loss and identity fraud is going to be more and more rampant.”

Right now Brendan is interning at Tresys Technology in Columbia, where he works on testing and developing software. After finishing up school, he will be looking for a job within Maryland’s IT industry. “My dream job is one that will be setting precedents, whether it be through policy or through methods used,” he explains.  His role model is Dr. Steven Yalowitz of UMBC’s Philosophy Department, who got Brendan hooked on the subject. “I hope one day to instill that same curiosity into others.”