Going back to my alma mater!
- priyankaraghavan
- Feb 16
- 4 min read
As securacy.ai was ramping up its MVP and we began thinking seriously about hiring interns, my co-founder and I did what most founders instinctively do — we went back to our networks. And of course, that meant reaching out to our old colleges.
In that process, I reconnected with the Computer Science department and the Head of Department. While we didn’t end up hiring interns from that round of outreach, something more valuable happened — I reconnected with my roots. There’s something deeply grounding about hearing familiar names, revisiting old corridors (even if only in conversation), and realizing how formative those years were.
So when the HOD invited me to conduct a cybersecurity workshop for the department’s technical symposium, Infinitum, I didn’t hesitate. I immediately said yes and began planning my travel. The topic? An introduction to threat modeling — something close to my heart.
I decided to make it a quick in-and-out trip: an early morning flight from Bangalore to Coimbatore and back the same evening. The department had thoughtfully arranged a car to pick me up, and I was driven to the college guest house — far more posh than anything we had access to as students! That contrast alone was enough to make me smile.
Professor Gopika received me warmly and led me toward the breakfast hall. On the way, I asked if we could first visit the hostel before breakfast. She gladly agreed — and even accompanied me.
We made a nostalgic pit stop at the famous tennis courts. Those courts hold a special place in my memories; apart from completing my core Computer Science credits at PSG Tech, I probably spent most of my four years there. Walking past them brought back flashes of matches, conversations, ambitions, and a younger version of myself.
Then came the hostel visit.
The old blocks looked almost unchanged. The same corridors. The same structure. The same understated simplicity. I took a few pictures — partly for memory’s sake, partly as future evidence to show my rather entitled children what hostel life really looks like!!! Next time my 13 year old says I am leaving home and I can't wait to go to hostel, he will have an honest view of what hostel rooms are like:)
Some places evolve. Some stay exactly the same. And sometimes, that’s exactly what makes going back so meaningful.
After a scrumptious breakfast headed to the computer science department and there was a new walkway to go from the hostel campus to the college campus which had not existed before. The department also had a facelift which does make sense given how technoloigy has changed. I still remember the big wooden tables with the 8085 microprocessors...:)
Most of the participants were 2nd and 3rd year computer science students from colleges across Tamil Nadu. That mix of backgrounds turned out to be the best part. Some had already tinkered with security tools, others were just stepping into cybersecurity for the first time. That diversity made the discussions richer — and way more fun.
Instead of just talking about theory, I wanted them to experience security thinking.
We started with the fundamentals — what cybersecurity really means beyond the buzzwords. When we unpacked Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability, I didn’t just define them. I simulated real-world examples:
What happens when confidentiality fails in a student app?
What does integrity look like when grades or payments are altered?
How does availability matter during peak exam-time usage?
Watching the “aha” moments happen in real time? Worth it.
And then things got even better.
A few students fired up Burp Suite and started experimenting with an OTP bypass attempt. Seeing them move from passive listeners to active testers was exactly the energy I hoped for. Nothing beats curiosity backed by hands-on experimentation.
But the highlight of the workshop was a fictional app I designed for them: “Hunger Survivor” — a college food app serving cheap meals to students.
The exercise?Split into Red Team and Blue Team.
The Red Team attacked the system: How would you break it? What could go wrong? Where are the weak entry points?
The Blue Team defended it: What controls would you add? How would you reduce risk?
Suddenly, threat modeling wasn’t abstract anymore. It was competitive. It was strategic. It was real.
To close the session, we introduced the STRIDE methodology. And this is where I knew the message had landed. Students started identifying Spoofing risks, Tampering vectors, Repudiation issues — and proposing solid, practical mitigations for our fictional app.
That moment — when learners independently apply a framework and come up with thoughtful controls — is deeply satisfying.
Workshops like this remind me why I love teaching security. When students realize that cybersecurity isn’t just tools, but a way of thinking — that’s when the transformation begins.
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