IIT Sri Lanka launches cybersecurity talk show series

IIT Head of Marketing Ashwaq Ahamed

Arteculate Asia Founder Enosh Praveen

Chief Information Security Officer and Cybersecurity Advisor Sujit Christy

Recognising the importance of raising cybersecurity awareness, the Informatics Institute of Technology (IIT) in partnership with Arteculate Asia, hosted a series of webinars on the theme titled ‘Opinion Unlocked’.

Bringing together industry experts for roundtable discussions and debates, the talk shows will explore the current threats posed by cyber adversaries and what organisations can do to safeguard themselves. The first season of the ‘Opinion Unlocked’ series concluded successfully and the second season is set to begin in October.

Soon to be aired, the latest season of ‘Opinion Unlocked,’ each panel discussion will feature prominent industry leaders discussing dynamic current affairs and impending realities regarding cybersecurity and will be hosted by the Chief Information Security Officer and Cybersecurity Advisor for several public and private sector organisations globally, Sujit Christy. 

Speaking on the initiative and its importance, Sujit conveyed, “There are no defined boundaries concerning cyberattacks. Cybersecurity maturity varies from country to country and organization to organisation. Hence, the need of the hour is to increase the quality and maturity of cybersecurity whilst ensuring resilience covering the People, Process and Technology. We recognise the need for increased intelligence sharing amongst organisations and strengthening regional cooperation to effectively protect our digital estates.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic, our lives have become much more entwined with technology. Organisations across industries have been forced to digitise, have workforce operate remotely, adopt cloud and operate hybrid environments. Globally, organisations are experiencing skill shortages. 

As the IIT Head of Marketing Ashwaq Ahamed points out, “This creates several attack vectors for cyberattacks. Never has the need for cybersecurity and compliance professionals been greater. IIT is committed to knowledge sharing and strengthening Sri Lanka’s cybersecurity capabilities. Through the Opinion Unlocked series, our focus is to highlight the critical importance of cybersecurity, and our Master’s programme in Cyber Security and Forensics is geared towards nurturing the skills of cybersecurity professionals.”

Awarded by the University of Westminster, United Kingdom, the MSc Cyber Security and Forensics at IIT is designed with a high degree of demand to the industry’s needs. It offers the opportunity to examine a variety of tools available on the open market, and the use of forensic tools to retrieve data from electronic sources. Given the growing complexity of cyberattacks and the crippling aftermath they leave in their wake, such programmes are essential to developing the skills of cybersecurity professionals on the frontlines to protect critical computer systems that large corporations and the economy rely on.

The upcoming season of the Opinion Unlocked series is set to explore even further the importance of cybersecurity in the modern world. Sharing his thoughts on the series, Arteculate Asia Founder Enosh Praveen said: “Our dependency on digital tools and online spaces has increased at an astronomical rate as a result of the current pandemic. But with this increased reliance comes the threat of crippling cyber-attacks as well. This is a truth for both organisations large and small, as recent developments have revealed. The importance of spreading cybersecurity awareness is greater than ever before.”

As the world celebrates cybersecurity awareness in October, the four-part talk show series for season two launched on 21 October. Check IIT Sri Lanka and Arteculate Asia Facebook pages for registration links and live shows. Revisit the first season of ‘Opinion Unlocked’ for all the previous discussions.

More information on the MSc Cyber Security and Forensics awarded by the University of Westminster, United Kingdom is available on IIT Sri Lanka’s official website. The course has been designed with a high degree of relevance to the industry’s needs.