Hydroficient IoT Cyber Defense Externship

In 2016, two college students exploited weak default passwords to hijack over 100,000 IoT devices, taking down Twitter, Netflix, Reddit, and Airbnb. The Mirai botnet proved how easily insecure connected devices can be weaponized. Nearly a decade later, the same vulnerabilities still exist—except now they control physical infrastructure.

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In this externship, you’ll learn to think like an attacker before becoming the defender. You’ll break into a live IoT system, intercept unprotected data streams, spoof commands to devices, and identify real security weaknesses. Then you’ll switch sides: encrypting data pipelines, locking down device access, and building AI-driven detection to flag suspicious behavior. Your target is Hydroficient’s smart water management platform, where sensors stream data every 0.1 seconds and a single breach could disrupt critical operations.

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By the end, you’ll deliver a Security Improvement Report designed for real-world use—and a portfolio artifact that proves you can secure production systems, not just discuss them.