The School of Computing is collaborating with a series of companies, including RSA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, IBM and F5, to produce one of the most advanced cyber security training grounds in the world.
In recent years the School has developed a range of systems simulating real-life IT infrastructures where students can learn about advanced methods such as malware analysis, penetration testing, cryptography and incident response.
The SOCLAB training infrastructure at Edinburgh Napier’s Cyber Academy lets workers get to grips with ransomware and other threats in a safe and isolated environment.
The Cyber Academy launched the security operations centre in collaboration with IT security company Satisnet. The partnership, based out of Merchiston campus, sees teams taught to combat scenarios like ransomware, denial of service attacks, insider threats and data loss.
Professor Bill Buchanan, who leads the Cyber Academy, said: “Our dream has always been to build training infrastructures which mimic the real-life IT environment in which we can run scenarios.
“The collaboration with Satisnet underlines that we aim to use the most advanced systems and tools possible, and to train people for a wide spectrum of roles in which they can identify threats and respond to them.”
Edinburgh Napier also hosted a global cyber security event which featured expert speakers in six different time zones.
The University kicked off the international collaboration on how to make cyberspace a safer place with its International Conference on Big Data in Cyber Security at the Craiglockhart campus.
The ‘Cybersecurity Revolution’ moved from Scotland to Canada then back to Europe via South America and the Far East, using the power of the internet to showcase cutting edge research as it followed the sun for 24 hours.
The summit brought together key players in industry, academia and law enforcement to share ideas and insights into how to respond to online security threats and detect malicious activity.