news
Record level of vulnerabilities sparks
cybersecurity innovation
imension Data, the US$8
billion global technology
integrator and managed
services provider for hybrid IT, has
revealed exclusive findings from its
Executive Guide to NTT Security’s
2019 Global Threat Intelligence
Report concerning the cybersecurity
maturity of organisations across a
number of markets and sectors.
D
Globally, the average cybersecurity
maturity rating stands at a worrying
1.45 out of 5 – a score determined
by an organisation’s holistic
approach to cybersecurity from
a process, metrics and strategic
perspective. This comes during a
time when security vulnerabilities
have also surged to a record high
(up 12.5% from 2017). to ramp up their security posture, most
likely prompted by their unenviable
positions as the most commonly targeted
industries, each accounting for 17% of
all attacks recorded in 2018.
The finance (1.71) and technology
(1.66) sectors boast the highest
maturity ratings and are continuing Scouring trillions of logs and billions of
attacks, the research also revealed the
most common attack types, with web
attacks the most prevalent threat,
doubling in frequency since 2017
and accounting for 32% of all attacks
detected last year.
Reconnaissance (16%) was the next
most common hostile activity, closely
followed by service-specific attacks
(13%) and brute-force attacks (12%).
BELFAST UNIVERSITY OFFERS MSC
CYBERSECURITY SCHOLARSHIPS
ueen’s University Belfast is helping secure Northern
Ireland’s status as a global cybersecurity hub
by offering 40 full scholarships worth over half
a million pounds for its specialist Applied Cyber Security
MSc programme. The move, announced at an event held in
Belfast, is in direct response to the growth of the sector both
in Northern Ireland and globally over the last few years, and
the strong demand from industry for more suitably qualified
cybersecurity professionals.
Q
As well as recent graduates, it is aimed at those already in
employment who are interested in changing career to work
in cybersecurity and will be carried out through a syllabus
informed by the research undertaken at the Centre for
Secure Information Technologies (CSIT), the UK’s largest
cybersecurity research centre.
The cybersecurity sector in Northern is estimated to provide
more than £70 million in annual salaries and commands
some of the best rates of compensation, not just in the wider
economy but also in the tech industry.
www.intelligentciso.com
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Professor Philip Hanna, Director of Education at the School
of Electronics, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,
Queen’s University Belfast, said the launch of the scholarships
comes at an apt time for one of the fastest-growing sectors in
Northern Ireland and in the world. u
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