Hafiz Muhammad Attaullah

21/09/2025

AI in Cybersecurity: Beyond the Buzz

A common question I hear is: “Will AI take over the job of cyber security?”

From my own experience, the answer is no.
At one stage, I worked on developing an automation bot that carried out daily system health checks across more than 50,000 endpoints. What once consumed analysts almost 4 hours a day was reduced to just 15 minutes — saving well over $100K each year.

But did AI replace people? Not at all.
Instead, it relieved them from routine, repetitive checks so they could focus on real value: identifying threats, fine-tuning detections, and improving incident response.

The key takeaway: AI in cybersecurity works best as an augmentation tool, not a replacement. It handles the tedious and error-prone work, while human analysts bring judgment, creativity, and contextual understanding.

Now I’m curious, how is your team applying (or planning to apply) AI in security operations? Do you find it hype, or genuine value?

07/08/2025

Did you know that you can visualize the results of a linear regression model using a scatter plot? This method is not only intuitive, but also highly effective for illustrating the relationship between variables.

🔹 What's on the graph?

In the graph below, you'll see the R programming output of a linear regression model and the corresponding scatterplot. The intercept and beta coefficient are highlighted, making it easy to see how well the model fits the data.

🔹 Why is this useful?

A scatter plot provides a clear representation of correlations and predictions, making it an essential visual tool for anyone working in statistical data analysis.

Here's the R code, in case you want to reproduce those results:

set.seed(683475)

x

03/05/2025

We just witnessed a reality check for KYC systems.
An AI-generated passport, completely fake — passed identity verification. Not in theory, but in practice.

This isn’t science fiction. It’s today's challenge.

With AI tools becoming more advanced and accessible, traditional KYC methods, the kind that rely only on document scans and selfies are simply not enough anymore.

This incident is a wake-up call for every fintech, exchange, and digital platform.

What needs to change?

* Build smarter, layered verification
* Add dynamic, real-time risk assessments
* Don’t remove human oversight — strengthen it

In an age where deepfakes and synthetic IDs are just a prompt away, the question is no longer “if” your system can be fooled, but when.

Time to rethink trust.

26/02/2025

There’s a difference between being present and truly being there for someone. Some people will stand beside you, but only when it’s convenient. They’ll clap when you succeed, but their hands stay still when you struggle.

So, don’t mistake presence for loyalty. Pay attention to actions, not just words. Because at the end of the day, it’s not about who’s around—it’s about who’s truly with you.

12/02/2025

Read the lost thesis of Dennis Ritchie, creator of the C programming language & co-creator of Unix: https://bit.ly/RitchiePhD

Ritchie never got his PhD b/c he didn't want to pay Harvard the thesis binding fee.

(v/IEEE Spectrum)

30/11/2024

Sometimes, I dream of hitting the reset button and escaping to a quiet little village where the Wi-Fi is weak and the cows are cuddly. I'd trade in my smartphone for a pair of overalls and become a professional cow cuddler or farmer. 🐄😄 No more stupid code to debug or servers to maintain! No internet at all! 😴

24/11/2024

Heads up: Microsoft Office, like many companies in recent months, has slyly turned on an “opt-out” feature that scrapes your Word and Excel documents to train its internal AI systems. This setting is turned on by default, and you have to manually uncheck a box in order to opt out.
If you are a writer who uses MS Word to write any proprietary content (blog posts, novels, or any work you intend to protect with copyright and/or sell), you’re going to want to turn this feature off immediately.

On a Windows computer, follow these steps to turn off “Connected Experiences” (yes AI training is not called AI training, it is all confusing on purpose): File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Privacy Options > Privacy Settings > Optional Connected Experiences > Uncheck box: “Turn on optional connected experiences”

20/11/2024

I frequently see posts about Scala/ZIO, and I feel nostalgic. Today, I asked ChatGPT to "create" ZIO in C++... :-) I had to make a few minor changes, though, to avoid memory access violations when we have flatMap followed by map. The result of the run in Visual Studio 2022 is this:

Success: 94
Error: An error occurred

04/10/2024

Congratulations to Hafiz Muhammad Attaullah from our Computing department for receiving the prestigious Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) Award in Cloud and Developer Security!

We are immensely proud of this remarkable achievement and the inspiration it brings to our community. Keep shining, Hafiz Muhammad Attaullah!

04/10/2024

21/09/2024

Every time a zoologically-named package updates on my or box, I brace myself for the delightful chaos of the software jungle. Will it be a majestic new feature or a bug that bites?