Greater collaboration is needed between Government, industry and academia to make any real forward steps in cyber security.
Speaking at the Queens University Belfast Centre for Secure Information Technologies (CSIT) conference, University president and vice chancellor Professor Patrick Johnson said that more than security, it should be considered how it is applied to the human being and society, and nothing can be achieved unless Government, industry and academia work together.
“We need greater skilled people in this area, and that is why we have launched a masters degree in cyber security with the first intake in September 2014,” he said. “The course has been defined by staff and former graduates and it will be what universities are about and what we deliver through CSIT.”
He went on to say that CSIT will play a key part in the development of security technologies for the UK and Northern Ireland in particular. “Cyber security presents Government with problems, but if we work together to get good opportunities we can fulfil those opportunities.”
In an opening statement, minister of finance and personnel at the Northern Ireland Executive Simon Hamilton, said that with a UK cyber security industry predicted to be worth £6 billion in a couple of years time, this was an “economic issue for the country and one that is highly attractive to cyber criminals.”
He said: “Cyber security should be on the agenda and we need to build awareness that it should be part of risk management and focus should be on mitigating risks.”
Professor, John V McCanny, principal investigator at CSIT, said that with more ubiqutous attacks and with an increase in the number of devices and the use of embedded devices, it is coming together as a common attack platform.
