HACKER Q&A
📣 OceanMan99

Looking for Thesis Project Inspiration


Never thought I would get here, but these are desperate times. For context, I am currently deep in my degree in Cybersecurity and have finally reached the dreaded point where I have to pick a topic for my master's thesis. Needless to say, I knew this moment would come eventually, but it inevitably still caught me off guard, especially since we have received little to no academic guidance in choosing a topic. Now, with 1 month left to my official start, I am still without a clear topic.

This is not to say I haven't done my due diligence in trying to find one. The most fleshed out thesis proposal I have so far is one about elaborating some kind of framework (or tool) for security in multi cloud environments. Initially I was very pleased with the topic's potential. I even found a professor willing to be my supervisor. However, I realised I might have bitten off more than I could chew, given my limited experience with cloud (a handful of summer internships working with AWS) and timeframe (5 months), which would not be enough to adequately cover such a complex topic.

As such I am now turning to you guys to ask for your professional opinion. I don't have extensive experience in one particular field, but what I do have is a lot of motivation to do deliver a good thesis. Also, no courses starting from January means I will have time to fully focus on it. What do you guys think? Should I try to reduce the scope of my current topic to make it realistic, e.g., maybe only look at AWS? Do you have any suggestions for finding an appropriate topic or any topic suggestions? My main interests are networking, OS security, communication protocols and web security, but I am open to anything, as long as it's accessible and realistic for my timeframe. This thesis will be a culmination of my academic work and I want to get this right, so any advice you have would be greatly appreciated.


  👤 jonsen Accepted Answer ✓
Go for what you already have. Use your supervisor to cut and twist your proposal plan to fit 5 months. I don't know where in this world you are, but where I've taught, a master's thesis is about demonstrating what you can do in the time given towards a relevant result. A proposal is a plan. Relevant mileposts should be reached, and the final goal to some extend. But details can be adjusted and cut during the process. A supervisor should help with adjusting the project plan. Up front as well as during your project.

👤 AlDante2
Have you thought about AI and its applications to cybersecurity? Intrusion detection, vulnerability scanning, etc. Or crafting new threats or countermeasures.