It’s time we understood the importance of having a vigorous cyber security infrastructure. MUSBA HASHMI speaks with EHRAZ AHMED and Nikhil S Mahadeshwar about how important it is to train people and the courses available
On Sunday morning, many people woke up to the news of personal data of over 500 million Facebook users leaked over the Internet. The news created a storm among the Facebookholics and hence, raised several security concerns. Many decided to take help from several websites to check whether they are in the list of the leaked user data.
“The case with Facebook happened because of a security flaw. Usually, the data breaches that we see in India, are because of some vulnerabilities in the app. Take for example, if the developer of an app or a website has not been able to completely secure it and has left loopholes, the hacker can easily fetch information and hack the data. In my experience, it is mostly the Application Programming Interface which are left vulnerable by the developers and companies don’t spend enough on security,” Ehraz Ahmed, an ethical hacker, entrepreneur and a Fintech professional, tells you.
Now this, of course, gives us a reality check of how strong a cybersecurity network we have and where we stand in the field.
From IT to finance and marketing, no field has been spared by the wrath of cyberattacks. Going ahead, it has become critical for all IT professionals, specially, to know security in and out. Every IT and technology professional needs to be involved in the process of safeguarding data and equipped with devices and infrastructure to counter these attacks.
“Unfortunately, we are lacking in talent. This is going to continue to be a problem in the coming years if we don’t rectify the quality of education and training that our new cyber experts receive,” Nikhil S Mahadeshwar, Co-founder & CTO, Skynet Softtech Pvt Ltd, points out.
Ahmed too agrees with Mahadeshwar and says that the advancements in technology will drive the cybersecurity market. All our personal data would be stored in the cloud and cybersecurity would be more important than ever.
“The rising security threats are a clear reflection of the lack of talent in the cybersecurity field. It has become imperative that we start focusing on training people on maintaining the basic security policies. It will help fill the skills gap,” Ahmed asserts.
But, one and may be the only positive of all these security breaches can be that it gives cybersecurity greater scope as a career option.
While, choosing a field is not much of a task, the real labour starts when one thinks of which course to opt for. With cybersecurity being a vast field, it goes without saying it has several courses on offer. To make things less complicated, students can begin with a certificate in ethical hacking.
“The first step should be to learn programming, without this one can’t aspire to enter the field. The aspirants should have a strong hold on, at least, the basics of programming and then they can opt for certificate courses,” Ahmed says.
Some of the courses students can explore is certified ethical hacker (CEH) which will give a students a broader perspective of the cybersecurity industry. “After completion of this certification course students can further select a specialisation from a variety of courses. Security analysis, digital forensic investigator, threat analysis, malware analysis, mobile forensic investigator and stoke analysis are there to name a few. But having said that, it is always recommended to have a strong base and then opt for other certifications,” Mahadeshwar tells you.
The popular belief that cyberattacks are often considered a risk, mainly, to large corporations and conglomerates is now changing as smaller businesses have begun to report data breach cases and system compromises.
“Smaller businesses are always an easy target for the hackers because they tend to not focus particularly on security. This gives room to hackers to leak and modify information. It proves that cybersecurity can’t be compromised at any cost and all the firms — no matter large or small — should invest in training their workforce in cybersecurity,” Ahmed explains.
In order to counter the increasing cyberattacks, there is a need to introduce cybersecurity as a subject in the school’s curriculum. “Students should be taught cybersecurity just like any other subjects. There should be a dedicated chapter that introduces them to the basics of the field,” Ahmed says.
This will not only help in strengthening the professionals expertise, but will also allow students to stay abreast with the latest happenings in the field. Hence, resulting in more students taking up the course.
