Michael Perklin
Faculty of Applied Science & Technology
Degree: Bachelor of Applied Information Science (Information Systems Security)
Year of graduation: 2008
Cyber Sleuth
Michael Perklin loves breaking things. Virtual things, namely, computer security systems.
“I look for answers to questions such as ‘How did the app verify I am who I say I am? How does it validate payment?’ says Michael, a Senior Investigator at Rogers Communications.
He has reverse-engineered programs to figure out how they work (and how they don't) to find the cause of security breaches. The next step - recommending changes to fix the problems – is the easy part, says Michael, “thanks to the foundation in computer science and security that Sheridan's BaISc program gave me.”
The launch of the BaISc program in 2003 coincided with Michael’s desire to take on a new challenge. “I realized immediately that this area of computer science was my true passion,” recalls Michael, a 2005 Computer Science Technology Co-op grad who was working in software development at CIBC.
“I abandoned my full-time job and returned to Sheridan. It was easily the best decision of my life,” Michael says. “Following graduation, I was hired without hesitation which kick-started my career.”
He has since built a reputation as an accomplished cyber-crime investigator, consulting for several companies before joining Rogers in 2011. A former Sheridan professor, Michael has also spoken at leading computer security conferences. Along the way, he has picked up additional certifications in his field, a less difficult task than Michael anticipated “since all the matter was covered at some point in the BaISc program.”
What’s keeping him hopping lately is his work in the emerging field of Bitcoin digital currency.
“I believe it will change the world as much as the Internet did,” says Michael, who is a director for the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, and has started his own security consulting firm, Bitcoinsultants.
Keeping on top of fast-evolving trends in the tech world is a constant in Michael’s life. “If you are standing still you are actually moving backwards! I'm always reading tech blogs, security lists, mailing lists, and more but I don't see it as work to read about the cool, new things coming out.”
Learn more about Sheridan’s Bachelor of Applied Information Sciences (Information Systems Security).
Michael Perklin loves breaking things. Virtual things, namely, computer security systems.
“I look for answers to questions such as ‘How did the app verify I am who I say I am? How does it validate payment?’ says Michael, a Senior Investigator at Rogers Communications.
He has reverse-engineered programs to figure out how they work (and how they don't) to find the cause of security breaches. The next step - recommending changes to fix the problems – is the easy part, says Michael, “thanks to the foundation in computer science and security that Sheridan's BaISc program gave me.”
The launch of the BaISc program in 2003 coincided with Michael’s desire to take on a new challenge. “I realized immediately that this area of computer science was my true passion,” recalls Michael, a 2005 Computer Science Technology Co-op grad who was working in software development at CIBC.
“I abandoned my full-time job and returned to Sheridan. It was easily the best decision of my life,” Michael says. “Following graduation, I was hired without hesitation which kick-started my career.”
He has since built a reputation as an accomplished cyber-crime investigator, consulting for several companies before joining Rogers in 2011. A former Sheridan professor, Michael has also spoken at leading computer security conferences. Along the way, he has picked up additional certifications in his field, a less difficult task than Michael anticipated “since all the matter was covered at some point in the BaISc program.”
What’s keeping him hopping lately is his work in the emerging field of Bitcoin digital currency.
“I believe it will change the world as much as the Internet did,” says Michael, who is a director for the Bitcoin Alliance of Canada, and has started his own security consulting firm, Bitcoinsultants.
Keeping on top of fast-evolving trends in the tech world is a constant in Michael’s life. “If you are standing still you are actually moving backwards! I'm always reading tech blogs, security lists, mailing lists, and more but I don't see it as work to read about the cool, new things coming out.”
Learn more about Sheridan’s Bachelor of Applied Information Sciences (Information Systems Security).