Get to Know Aditya Dobriyal, Information Technology R+D Intern

Learn more about the background of?Aditya Dobriyal, NYPA's Information Technology R+D intern in our Q&A below.

What drew you into the IT and cybersecurity fields?

I was the child that wanted the latest tech, and I would even review it on YouTube. That’s where the interest began. Soon I was trying to install operating systems on different kinds of hardware and handle all the tech needs for my family's house. I started studying electronics and went on to develop interest an interest in computer science.?

What type of technical challenges do you enjoy?

The most appealing part is probably the limitless possibilities. I like working on ideas that demand innovation, simple solutions that need outside the box thinking. During my time at NYPA I am identifying problems with our infrastructure on various sites using drones and Computer Vision.

Is there a specific area of IT and cybersecurity that interests you the most?The most interesting would be the ever-growing potential to improve existing pipeline and code. Every other day we have something new coming out that can add onto to existing processes. Every piece of code written a year ago will have potential for being more efficient based on the updates in the tools occurring over the years.

Which part of working in the energy industry do you find the most interesting?

The sheer volume of demand and the innovation taking place to produce feasible supply chains is exhilarating. The scope for renewable energy has been knocking on the opportunistic door for at least a decade now, and we are at the cusp of realizing just how potent renewable sources are.

Where do you see yourself in five years? Ten?

In the 21st?century, we as humans are at the stage that Moore’s Law may be used to predict how volatility will increase in society every year. Situations and our priorities as a civilization are changing rapidly, so I don’t think it makes any sense to set 10 year plans in stone. Although in 3 or 4 years, I would love to see myself as an impact maker in the energy industry. And NYPA being at the forefront in our state, I think this is exactly where I need to be.

Which IT and cybersecurity issues keep you awake at night?

While there are many issues that are alarming, the rise of quantum computing should get the most attention. And the reason it should keep us awake is that every security algorithm we have today, the ones protecting our online transactions or verifying if the websites we are visiting are in fact what they claim to be - they aren't fast or powerful enough to decrypt in time. Some recent algorithms predict would take a?trillion?years to crack an average laptop. But once quantum computing comes, it will be able to decrypt these algorithms within hours if not minutes. Rendering all our software security protocols, moot.

Describe your ideal IT and/or cybersecurity dream job.?

My ideal job would be in ML-Operations, where I have control over how code is deployed. It keeps me in the loop when it comes to modelling the solution to the problem and gives me total power over how the code is stored and runs in the servers. Dreamland for efficiency aficionados!

Speaking to future IT and cybersecurity interns, what advice do you have to offer them?

Every young person making their decision on what they want to do in their lives should consider the fact that these fields are evergreen. So long as we have computers, we will need to secure them. At the same time, I think it’s important to point out that computer science, while having its attractive bells and whistles as a field, does not treat you well if you don’t have a passion for it. Solving the smallest bug in code can be a humbling experience.

Name one single aspect of IT or cybersecurity development that has impressed you the most in the last five years.

The field had a growth spurt a couple of decades ago and it just hasn’t stopped. Something new keeps coming up every couple of months, and every year we have at least one game changer. How many other fields can say that they haven’t stopped growing in two decades, even when the whole world went on lockdown?