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Laura Wartschinski

I am a computer science student at Humboldt University, Berlin. I am very interested in security topics, especially how to write secure software and avoid vulnerabilities in applications, and I am looking for opportunities to learn more and gain experience.

studies

Some of my courses during my master's were network security, internet protocols, cryptology, safe and secure software systems, peer-to-peer systems, and machine learning. I did projects on tunneling IP over DNS, on a private peer-to-peer network, and on (the lack of) security mechanisms in KNX.
My master's thesis is titled Detecting Software Vulnerabilities with Deep Learning. I scraped a large number of commits fixing vulnerabilities in python code from github and trained Long Short Term Memory networks to recognize some typical patterns of e.g. sql injection or xss vulnerabilities. The source code and data are available on github, as well as the thesis itself.

work experience

I am just starting my professional career. While studying, I participated in the PREVIEW project for wireless sensor networks in industrial facilities, mainly doing software development in C++ and Go. I was also employed as a working student for several semesters, helping with teaching in theoretical computer science.
From August 2018 to August 2019, I worked as an intern in the department of Cyber Security for the Detecon Digital Engineering Center. My tasks included various demonstrations (e.g. keylogger, mimikatz, Rubber Ducky), the creation of a comprehensive risk assessment framework, and teaching web security concepts in workshops and lectures.

interests

I am very interested in both how to design secure software, and how to find vulnerabilities and exploit them. Currently, I am teaching myself some more by doing online courses and vulnerability labs. I like listening to podcasts like the Defensive Security Podcast, Darknet Diaries, the CyberWire, and Soft Skills Engineering.
Besides that, I co-founded the local secular humanist student's association with a focus on humanism, rationality, a scientific worldview and open-minded thinking. I also volunteer for Saram, an organization for human rights in North Korea. I also love pen&paper roleplaying, cognitive psychology, hiking, and music festivals.