Cybersecurity Member News July 2019 14 EngTalk calls for cybersecurity sector to confront challenges The cybersecurity sector is up against some big challenges – an increasingly complex connected world, adversaries who are getting better and a shortage of skilled professionals to fight them. But there are opportunities to “change the narrative”, argued Raj Samani, Chief Scientist at McAfee, speaking at our most recent EngTalk. Missed opportunities Raj began his talk at IET London: Savoy Place in May with some sobering insights into the challenges faced by the cybersecurity sector, among them the skills shortage and young people’s lack of awareness of cybersecurity as a career choice. We’ve got thousands and thousands of people who aren’t even being told what our industry is and are being pushed into careers that we were being pushed into 10 years ago,” he said. The problem for the sector is it needs more talent to fight against increasingly powerful cyber criminals. Criminals with skills Referring to some of his experiences working against cyber criminals, Raj showed that the criminals are often well- informed, quicker than industry to turn around campaigns and are funded by nation states. Raj worked against one campaign, targeting the Winter Olympics, where he found that the criminals involved were able to analyse, test and roll-out a brand new tool in just seven days. “How many of you work in an organisation that today can analyse and review and release a new application in seven days?” He asked the audience. “That’s what you’re dealing with.” Changing the narrative Raj’s talk did provide hope, however, calling on cybersecurity professionals to use their skills and experience to change the narrative. “Bad guys know more about what we do than we know about them. But I don’t think we’re going to change that any time soon,” he said. “One thing we can do is begin to get more young talented people into this industry.” Raj described the initiatives he’s been involved in - from speaking in schools to sponsoring a teacher at Bletchley Park, who teaches visiting children about cybersecurity. He’s also led an initiative that increases public awareness of the “good guys” in cyber. His ‘No More Ransom’ website provides free decryption tools to anyone impacted by ransomware. Dr Maria Bada, Research Associate at the Cambridge Cybercrime Centre, Cambridge University, also spoke at the event, analysing the criminal mindset and similarly calling for interventions that help young people use their talents in positive ways. A conversation-starter One attendee agreed that it is industry’s responsibility to go out and find talent, but questioned whether industry is making itself attractive enough: Others said that losing talent to cybercrime is not just an industry issue, but a wider societal one: Raj Samani, Chief Scientist at McAfee, at IET London Savoy Place Ed Rees  @edrees123 · May 14 Replying to @Raj_Samani @SciTech_Cat and 3 others Great preso last night - really interesting. Getting talent to industry - though - should be getting industry to the talent. Especially after Maria’s preso about the profile of cybercriminals. Is industry creative enough to be a real option at key gateways... Nick Mclauchlan OTSupport - Safely and securely providing Operational Technology & Systems Integration services throughout the project lifecycle It was an excellent event, I love the psychology of Cyber-crime and Dr. Maria Bada reaffirmed my belief that it is partly a societal issue, with individuals at risk of ending up the wrong side of the line slipping through the cracks in education and engagement. Catch up on the full EngTalk at: tv.theiet.org/?videoid=12687 For details on our next EngTalk, ‘Digital to Physical: How virtual designs inspire the products and factories of the future’, please visit theiet.org/engtalks