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Northumbria Uni partners to host ‘Certified Ethical Hacker’ Bootcamp

SOURCE: larry mcguirk / Shutterstock.com
A two-day ‘Certified Ethical Hacker’ bootcamp was held at Northumbria’s award-winning Computer and Information Sciences building.

Mar 9 | 2 minutes read |

By U2B Staff 

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Northumbria University collaborated with the International Council of Electronic Commerce Consultants (EC-Council) and the cybersecurity educators’ community organisation (CISSE) UK to host a two-day ‘Certified Ethical Hacker’ Bootcamp for computer science teachers and academics.

The main goal of the programme is to ensure that teachers in the UK are equipped with the most current cybersecurity skills to pass on to their students.

The ethical hacker bootcamp was designed to educate participants on the methods that can be used to monitor weaknesses in online security systems.

Participants also learned to identify the vulnerabilities of online systems that leave them open to malicious hackers.

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Northumbria has a strong reputation in the field of cybersecurity. The university is a member of the EC-Council, as well as an accredited examination centre for the globally recognised Certified Ethical Hacker assessment.

Final year students of the university’s BSc in Computer Networks and Cybersecurity are given the option to pursue the Certified Ethical Hacker exam. This allows them to graduate with a qualification from the EC-Council alongside their degree.

Senior lecturer in Northumbria’s computer science department, Neil Eliot, who is also a certified ethical hacker since 2014 said, “So much of our lives are conducted online these days and while this is often more convenient, it also means our personal information is at risk from hackers.”

Eliot expressed delight at the opportunity to host the first Certified Ethical Hacker Bootcamp, “The best time to do this (learn about staying safe online) is while they are studying at school, college or university before they enter the world of employment, but this means ensuring their teachers are up-to-date with the latest cybersecurity developments.”

Eliot stressed on the importance of instilling teachers with the latest cybersecurity skills. These skills, he said, are fundamental in ensuring students are equipped with the knowledge and expertise needed to stay safe in an increasingly digital world.

He added that it is also important to teach young people about the risks of sharing information online. “Young people should also learn how to spot a potential threat and know what to do when they are targeted,” he said.

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Founding member of CISSE UK, Charles Clarke said that cybersecurity is a sector that is evolving rapidly. This greatly impacts the culture of how this subject is taught and experienced by students in universities.

Clarke explained that the main challenge for cybersecurity academics lies in expanding and enhancing both knowledge and skills in a manner that is time-sensitive, in order to provide the best outcome for students.

Clarke added, “Attaining industry recognised certifications is an excellent way for academics to mitigate such challenges, while symbiotically benchmarking, enhancing and validating their proficiencies.”

The university has applied for grant funding to conduct a survey of teachers at schools, colleges, and universities to uncover the level of cybersecurity education currently being offered in the North of the UK.

    
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