HTX Intern Stories: “I secured my choice internship despite taking an unconventional path”

Suriya Ruthaman S/O Chandramohan chose to eschew the traditional path of getting an O-Level certificate, but he managed to land his coveted internship through diligence and determination. Here’s his inspiring and unique story of how he became a Tech Development intern at HTX’s Cybersecurity Centre of Expertise (CoE).

(Photo: HTX)

When Suriya entered the Normal (Academic) stream in Secondary School, he made it his goal to get a placement in the one-year Polytechnic Foundation Programme (PFP), an alternative pathway for him to enter Polytechnic. Otherwise, he’d have to go on to Secondary 5 to sit for the O-Level examinations, a route that didn’t appeal to him.

People around him kept telling him that attaining an O-Level certificate was important, but Suriya was steadfast in his choice. He knew that he wanted to work in cybersecurity, as he admired his father’s field of work in technology. Suriya also did not feel that lacking an O-Level certificate would put him at a career disadvantage in future.

With his parents’ support and encouragement, coupled with his hard work, Suriya got a place at Singapore Polytechnic in Infocomm Security Management (ISM). He then secured an internship as a Tech Development intern at HTX’s Cybersecurity CoE during the third year of his diploma programme. How?

It all began before the 2022 World Cup semi-finals between Morocco and France.

He said “yes” before the semi-finals

Suriya’s diploma programme required him to complete an internship. At the time, his biggest worry was that he might end up at an unfulfilling one with tasks completely unrelated to what he was learning in his course. That was until he met Simon Eng, Head/Tech Development of Cybersecurity CoE at HTX.

The third-year ISM student recalled feeling excited during the interview call that took place in December last year with Simon and Ong Puay Son (Lead Engineer of Cybersecurity), both of whom would later become his internship mentors.

“They made the work sound fun and made it very clear what they were expecting of the interns they hire. They were jovial, which made me feel comfortable,” Suriya said.

The meeting left quite an impression on Suriya. After being told that they were keen to take him under their wing, Simon requested for Suriya’s answer in less than a day. “I was given until 3am before the World Cup semi-final game,” he said.

With 12 hours on the clock, Suriya found himself having to make a decision fast. But even with the tight deadline set, it was actually a no-brainer. Simon’s charm and the promising outlook of what an internship with HTX had already persuaded the 20-year-old soccer fan during the call.

Where he’s dribbled the ball on the field

Commencing his internship in March 2023, Suriya started working closely with the Cybersecurity team on several projects. One of the highlights includes being part of the launch of Hatch, an innovation hub to connect global startups with Home Team Departments to co-develop homeland security innovations. The launch was held during the 5^th TechXplore event, a quarterly held exhibition of tech demos for colleagues to explore the latest R&D work and projects together.

Working with the Ukrainian-based cybersecurity startup called Eclypsium, Suriya and his team researched topics to pitch for the roundtable tech talks that were organised for guests at Hatch to enjoy. In the end, topics on 5G and spam were chosen instead of his team’s proposed topic on IoT firmware and vulnerabilities. Despite that, Suriya was not too disappointed as he found the overall experience enriching.

Suriya 02 Roundtable discussions with some of the startup representatives at Hatch/TechXplore 5. (Photo: HTX)

Another project that he was tasked with was to give a presentation to the entire division, together with another intern, on the development of ChatGPT. They explained the growing use of AI and how it can be used for work and life in general. The boardroom where it took place has now become something of a memorable place to him.

“It was my first time giving such a huge presentation to people who are not my classmates,” Suriya said. “Seeing others understand my presentation and laugh at my jokes in a workplace setting was a different experience, so that felt nice.”

View this post on Instagram
<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuY4SeounpC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuY4SeounpC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><svg width="50px" height="50px" viewBox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"><g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"><div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div></div></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div></a><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/CuY4SeounpC/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by HTX Singapore (@htxsg)</a></p></div></blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

A post shared by HTX Singapore (@htxsg)

We test Suriya and Zhi Xian, another intern at Cybersecurity, on their knowledge of tech jokes. (Video: HTX)

He was also roped in to work on projects such as Cyber Deception and the HTX Cybersecurity Maturity Model, both of which are still in their early stages of development. His current work these days revolves around firmware analysis and documentation on third-party firmware analysis tools, which he usually does when he works from home.

“Firmware analysis can take anywhere between four and six hours,” he said. “So I usually let the software run in the background while I work on other projects and tasks that have been assigned to me by my supervisor. Firmware analysis is quite technical, but it’s been my favourite thing to do because I like the challenge.”

What the player has to say about his coaches

Far from the fears he had had at the start of his internship, the cyber tech intern found his experience at HTX to be fruitful. He said that he owes his growth to his mentors.

“I must credit this to both Simon and Puay Son. They both placed a lot of trust in me to work on several projects with them.”

Suriya 03 Suriya and his supervisor Puay Son. (Photo: HTX)

One thing that stood out a lot to Suriya was the inclusive culture.

The learning environment here has been a nurturing one and I like coming into work because I can feel that what I do is relevant and meaningful.

“Simon made sure that I felt involved in every meeting and interaction,” he said. “He created an inclusive environment by reminding our Chinese colleagues to switch to ‘Channel 5’—that is, to switch to speaking in English, so that I could also understand what was being said. Puay Son also made the effort to frequently check up on me. I feel that she has pushed me to be more confident about the work I produce. Both my mentors have provided me with a lot of insight into how the cybersecurity field works and how we can excel in it in the future.”

The final score before the playoffs

As his internship came to an end, Suriya reflected on his journey.

“Working at HTX has made me realise that the cyber scene is always evolving and that we must constantly be ready for a wide range of security threats, vulnerabilities, and countermeasures,” he said. “The learning environment here has been a nurturing one and I like coming into work because I can feel that what I do is relevant and meaningful. I’m really glad that I said ‘yes’ to this internship opportunity amongst my other options.”

Click here for internship opportunities with us!

We are always seeking inquisitive and innovative individuals to co-create extraordinary solutions with us.

Join us to be at the forefront of the finest tech capabilities in the field!

Join Us

From private to public sector: Michael Vong on navigating a mid-career switch

Climbing the mountain: Leonard Lee’s path into Cybersecurity