CYBER CRIME
Belfast’ s growing cyber security industry has unprecedented potential
by Gary Robinson, European Board Member, OWASP Belfast Chapter
T
here is rarely a day that goes by when there isn’ t a story in the news about a cyber security breach or a hack on a high profile organisation.
High profile hacks have recently exposed David Beckham’ s private emails, causing some controversy around his eligibility for a knighthood, and revealed that high tech doll My Friend Cayla has a security weakness that allows cyber attackers to intercept the private conversations of users and relay custom audio recordings to children.
During the US presidential election, cyber security was in the headlines too following allegations of statesponsored Russian cyberattacks on the Democratic Party, while Yahoo’ s recent data breaches alone could potentially affect one in seven of the world’ s population.
The prevalence of cyber threats is worrying to many people, but the ubiquity of stories on information security also provides a perfect illustration of why cyber security should be the number one area of interest for anyone looking to forge a career in the tech sector in the next few years.
The evergrowing popularity of connected devices and instant access to information means that the market for information security will grow exponentially and equally for the smallest of technology startups right to the world’ s most sophisticated corporations and most powerful governments.
Research by the Financial Times fDi Markets team named Belfast as the world’ s top city for cyber security investment projects between 2013 and 2016, and there is currently 100 % employment in the sector across Northern Ireland. Job roles such as security engineers, penetration testers and security architects are in high demand and people with the right qualifications and experience can write their own ticket with global employers and indigenous companies alike.
A strong cyber cluster is developing here, driven by QUB’ s highly regarded Centre for Secure Information Technology( CSIT), the UK’ s Innovation and Knowledge Centre for secure information technologies. Companies like Black Duck Software, Rapid 7, Proofpoint, Alert Logic and WhiteHat Security have all set up operations in Northern Ireland in recent years. Their expertise is adding to a growing cadre of local companies that are also making waves, such as Titan IC, Repknight, Cyberlytic, BSecur and SaltDNA.
These companies have supported the development of an enviable talent pool in cyber – but we can’ t rest on our laurels. There is huge demand for talent in the sector globally and if we want to stay competitive, cyber security must continue to be a priority sector promoted by Government. In fact, the UK Chancellor Philip Hammond has committed £ 1.9 billion to the UK’ s cyber security field before 2020.
Part of this investment in cyber security involves rolling out cyber security lessons to 5,000 children in England and Wales. While Northern Ireland’ s young people won’ t be involved in this particular offering, it indicates a first step towards a shift in how we educate our children. Based on the projected needs of the industry, we need to start training today for cyber security jobs that will be available in when our school children are entering the workforce.
Reports have estimated the global figure at one million cyber security job openings and Symantec, the security software vendor, has predicted that will rise to 6 million globally by 2019, with a projected shortfall of 1.5 million.
The cyber security field is broad and expanding and as well as attracting new graduates it also offers a lot of career options for IT professionals considering a move from building code to defending it.
The demand for jobs within the cyber security industry is varied. Many companies are in need of security engineers and coders to build secure web sites and products, as well as ethical hackers and testers who ensure those systems cannot be breached. Skilled security researchers are also in high demand. And in industries such as finance the need for security administrators and IT
auditors is always growing.
The Open Web Application Security Project – or OWASP – is a worldwide organisation made up of volunteers from the industry who are experiencing this rapid change sector on a daily basis.
Part of OWASP’ s mission is to create freelyavailable articles, methodologies, tools, training and technologies in web application security that can be used to the benefit of all.
OWASP’ s AppSec EU conference coming to Belfast in May
This will be one of the biggest European cyber security conferences in 2017. It is a major coup to bring this event to the city and reflects Belfast’ s status as a rising star as a worldwide cyber security centre.
Over five days we will have a superb opportunity to show more than 800 delegates from across Europe what Belfast has to offer and also to get fresh insight into the key trends in the sector.
There are still opportunities to get involved or attend the conference. You can find more information at https:// 2017. appsec. eu /.
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