Connor Mathews bridges cyber operations practice and theory
Connor Mathews has a simple message for service members considering a role at MIT Lincoln Laboratory: "You will grow here." Over the summer, the U.S. Army Staff Sergeant found himself immersed in theoretical research and contributing to ideas that could impact the future of cyber operations. The experience gave him a glimpse of the possibilities in his own future as he transitions from a career in the military to the civilian workforce.
Mathews interned at Lincoln Laboratory through the Department of Defense's SkillBridge program. SkillBridge provides opportunities for service members to gain civilian work experience through internships during their last six months of service. Working remotely from his station at the U.S. Army Cyber Protection Brigade in Georgia, Mathews was embedded in a research program within the Laboratory's Secure Resilient Systems and Technology Group.
Mathews had hoped to be placed at the Laboratory through SkillBridge after he attended the Cyber Technology for National Security Workshop on site in 2023. At this annual event, Laboratory staff present their latest cybersecurity research and government leaders share perspectives on key cyber threats.
“I could tell the Laboratory was an excellent environment and that it developed incredibly impactful technology. I lack experience in this type of research and development. It gave me a desire to participate in that,” says Mathews.
When interviewing for the position, Mathews was presented with a concept for making communications more secure and covert. His interest was piqued: Mathews is a cyber operations specialist for the Army. His job is to "threat hunt," or to analyze secured communications data for signs of compromise.
"I felt my practical experience in threat hunting might be valuable to the research program," Mathews says. "I have an understanding of how these security concepts work and how they can be broken, but I want to get more into theoretical analysis."
The program he worked on involves steganography, the practice of hiding a secret message within an ordinary message. In this case, the concept considers theoretical ways to encode covert messages into the source code of computer programs or applications. The challenge is encoding a message while not interfering with a program or app's functionality or changing the code to the extent that it tips off an adversary.
"An important part of realizing new theoretical constructions is making sure that the assumptions of the construction hold in the real world," says J. Parker Diamond, Mathews' research supervisor. "For steganography and covert programs, that means determining whether actual code on the internet is suitable for our needs. Connor has been a major force multiplier in answering that question."
During his internship, Mathews built a database of open-source code that the team could use as baseline for their experiments. This task required a deep dive into academic research to understand the field and identify suitable code samples.
Mathews brought an important practical perspective to the research problem. "His cyber operations experience in the Army was a major factor in helping us figure out what would look 'strange' when attempting to construct programs with some covert effect," Parker says, adding that his contributions will assist the group's work in the years to come.
While this internship introduced Mathews to a career in research and development, SkillBridge opportunities run the gamut of career paths. The program was established in 2011 amid concerns of U.S. military personnel struggling to secure employment following the 2008 financial crisis. Today, approximately 1,700 partner organizations offer internships, helping veterans gain new skills with potential employers.
"Any program that helps our veterans, who have served our country to help keep us safe, deserves to be recognized and supported," says Josephine Lewis, the Laboratory's SkillBridge program manager. Lewis started the Laboratory's program last year and has since onboarded 40 service members from across the military branches. More than half of those participants have transitioned into full-time roles at the Laboratory.
"I would love to return to the Laboratory in the future," Mathews says. As he ends his active-duty contract with the Army, he looks forward to completing his master's degree at Georgia Tech and beginning the hunt for a cybersecurity job. He leaves feeling motivated to further grow his knowledge.
"I gained an appreciation for the effort that goes into scouring bodies of research for valuable techniques. Coming from a threat analysis environment in which I was considered senior in my niche, I desire to pursue additional education in mathematics and computer science. I want to continue to contribute in meaningful ways," Mathews says.