KARACHI:Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialization (ORIC) of Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET) organized a seminar on Cyber Security to highlight the seriousness of the cyber crime that is rampant in present day society.
Sir Syed University is aiming at establishing the Centre of Excellence for Cyber Security at SSUET. Muhammad Asif Riaz, CEO, Digital Arrays and Farooq Naiyer, Chief Information Security Officer, ORION and Ontario Cybersecurity Higher Education Consortium gave an impressive and informative presentation on cybercrime and security.
Welcoming the guest speakers, Prof. Dr. Vali Uddin, Vice Chancellor SSUET, said that the cybercrime is on the rise and we are becoming more and more dependent on technology, from smart devices, to databases in academic institutions and hospitals. Even some of the world’s biggest companies have fallen prey to cybercriminals, who have leaked sensitive data that put millions at risk. It is now risky to do business without taking the proper precautions. A significant portion of that data can be sensitive information, financial data, personal information, or other types of data for which unauthorized access or exposure could have negative consequences. Combining sound cyber security measures with an educated and security-minded employee base provides the best defense against cyber criminals attempting to gain access to the organization’s sensitive data.
Prof. Dr. Vali Uddin said that the cyber threat is everywhere in the world and it has been turned out to be a global issue. Preparation is essential in terms of cyber security to combat against the heinous crime. We are focusing at the campus to produce manpower to protect sensitive data and personnel information from cyber theft. The fact is that we are generating enormous data, which is available at Facebook, Gmail etc. for others to have access to, who can make it nonfunctional.
Giving presentation on “Cyber Theft Intelligence”, Muhammad Asif Riaz, CEO, Digital Arrays, said that the rise in cyber-attacks in the Gulf States over the past few years represents a growth risk of business operation. He said 86 cyber-attacks took place in the first two months of 2018. It is, therefore, necessary to gain intelligence to be protective against cyber-attacks. Keep yourself alert with constant harvest and process knowledge about threat actors and incidents. Any delay is the moment of risk and your vulnerabilities may be identified. Time to answer is now.
Cyber security is very important as it reduce uncertainty and helps in knowledge management. Don’t take risk of not taking cyber security responsibilities. Develop intelligence requirements. He asked to be proficient in cyber operations, both reactive and proactive and disseminate intelligence with properly institutionalized efforts.
Farooq Naiyer, Chief Information Security Officer, ORION and Ontario Cybersecurity Higher Education Consortium, spoke on “The current threat landscape and how it affects Pakistan”. He said that anything happened wherever in the world necessarily affects Pakistan too. Number of breaches is rising every year. In 2021, nearly 80 trillion breach cases were record, while 28,000 were reported breached. Renowned companies like Pizza Hut, Ricoh, Uber, Yahoo, and Facebook have been breached that eventually affected the common people. Data is the biggest currency right now.
He said that the new vulnerabilities are discovered every day and severe than the last. Pakistan is the second at the list of the worst prepared countries for cybercrime. All internet connected are exposed to risk. Around 29% organizations have adopted IoT. It is estimated to have the 46 trillion concerned devices by 2021. Farooq Naiyer pointed out that government should invest in cyber security. Every organization should allocate budget for awareness training at all levels within the organization. Train and mentor upcoming cyber security talent. In the end, Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Vali Uddin presented SSUET shield and souvenir bag to the guest speakers.