University News Last updated 28 November 2024
Training ethical hackers to combat the growing threat of cyber attacks around the globe has earned 探花直播 (BCU) a top accolade.
For the third straight year, the University has received the EC-Council鈥檚 prestigious Academia Instructor Circle of Excellence Award for its work educating and training the next generation of cyber security experts.
鈥淭here are thousands and thousands of cyber attacks taking place every day,鈥� said Ron Austin, Associate Professor in Network Security at BCU.
鈥淭he University is helping combat those attacks by training engineers, graduates and postgraduates to understand how an attacker thinks and how they might break into a network.
鈥淭hese are ethical hackers, the good guys. They test and protect a network by identifying vulnerabilities and helping fix them.鈥�
Dr Umar Daraz, Director of Innovation and Partnerships at BCU, said the EC-Council award was deserved recognition for the University鈥檚 academic researchers.
He added: 鈥淭he ground-breaking work and training of next generation cyber security experts at the University not only pushes the boundaries of knowledge but also plays a role in fortifying our cyber defences in a rapidly evolving digital landscape powered by the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution.鈥�
Professor Hanifa Shah, Pro Vice-Chancellor STEAM and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment at BCU, added: 鈥淐yber security has always been important, but that importance is growing.
鈥淚鈥檓 pleased that our College of Computing鈥檚 contribution to a UK priority area - training the next generation of cyber security experts - has been validated in this way.
鈥淭he work we do here at BCU is fundamental to the University鈥檚 new strategy, which aims to power prosperity, create knowledge for good, and develop the talent for tomorrow.鈥�
Stealing industrial secrets, accessing personal data, and taking control of computer systems has become big business for criminals.
鈥淢ore and more people are reliant on IT and IT security today,鈥� said Austin. 鈥淭hey expect their networks to work and be secure, just as they expect the lights to come on when they flick a switch.
鈥淎ttackers spend days, weeks, and even months trying to get into a network because it can be worth a lot of money to them. Tens of millions of pounds in some cases.
鈥淲hat we are doing is ensuring that there are enough experts out there to help protect us.鈥�
BCU trains around 100 students in cyber security each year through its respective Masters courses.
These students, who come from around the world as well as the UK, are in high demand because of the skills and experience gained while at the University.
鈥淭here is a lot of academic rigour,鈥� said Austin. 鈥淔or example, students not only need to be able to break into a system, but they must also be able to demonstrate how they did it, how to fix the vulnerability, and why their work is important.
鈥淎s a result, they get industry certification as well as a good master's degree.
鈥淭his makes them very attractive employees because the industry knows it hasn鈥檛 got to spend thousands of pounds on training. Our students have already had it.鈥�
BCU graduates end up working around the world, in both the public and private sector, including for the UK Government and banking giants Lloyds.
鈥淲e鈥檙e embedding real employability skills into our programmes,鈥� said Austin. 鈥淚t鈥檚 paying off and the University is getting recognition as a result.鈥�
The EC-Council is an influential cyber security certification, education, training, and services company based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Its annual awards highlight the highest levels of good practice taking place across the globe.
A full list of award winners can be found here: https://www.eccouncil.org/ec-council-global-awards/