Mary Prabha Ng was an undergraduate English major at the University of Buffalo until she accepted a bet from her then-boyfriend over whether or not she could learn how to work with computers.
Several years later, that boyfriend is her husband, and Ng is on the front line of defense in protecting the University's computer network from of hackers, viruses and worms.
Her expertise and skills in developing and enhancing computer security systems led OIT to hire her last year.
Ng previously worked at the Department of Defense's Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Rhode Island.
There, she helped to design computer programs, research inscription methods, and enhance security systems on unarmed underwater vehicles.
At Princeton, Ng focuses on protecting the University's network security, improving intrusion protection systems and performing security risk assessments.
With the help of two Intrusion Prevention Systems — which examine traffic coming into the network, — Ng and her colleagues can detect harmful viruses and worms.
The mysql-slammer worm is especially problematic because it is, as Ng explained, "very prevalent in networks."
"A big thing we're working on now is spam," Ng said. "We're really trying to get a handle on that."
Ng emphasized the importance of teamwork in protecting the University's network. "It's really a collaborative effort," she said.
In an attempt to better understand vulnerabilities in computer systems and gather ideas about potential hacking methods and tools, the University sent Ng to the annual Defcon hacking conference in July.
The meeting in Las Vegas was attended by many members of the underground hacking community as well as federal officials and private citizens. Hackers met to exchange ideas and provide attendees with insight into future hacking techniques.
"[Attending Defcon] was a very valuable experience," Ng said.
While the intrusion prevention systems she works with help to bar the entrance of millions of worms and viruses into the network, Ng stressed the astuteness of hackers and virus writers.
"A system will never be completely safe," she said.
Ng had advice for students and other members of the University community for keeping their computers safe.
"Stay educated," she said. "Keep your machine up to date and make sure you have current virus patches."
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