Pádraig Hoare
About 5,000 employees in 4,000 firms will be trained in cybersecurity as part of a Government-backed strategy to combat the burgeoning cyber crime industry.
The Cybersecurity Skills Initiative is backed by 18 agencies, including Skillnet Ireland, the IDA, National Cyber Security Centre and the Garda Cyber Crime Bureau.
It will see 5,000 IT-orientated people trained in cybersecurity over the next three years, with a series of workshops for individuals at all levels, as well as training programmes ranging from 12-week courses to degree and masters programmes.
There will also be a two-day foundational course provided for non-technical employees to develop an understanding of the fundamentals of cybersecurity.
Europol, the EU-wide police network, has warned that the global impact of cybercrime has risen to €2.5 trillion, making it “more profitable than the global trade in marijuana, cocaine, and heroin combined”.
A survey last year by British IT research firm Juniper found criminal data breaches will cost businesses €7tn over the next five years, due to higher levels of internet connectivity and inadequate enterprise-wide security. It found that SMEs were particularly at risk from cyber attacks. Skillnet Ireland chief executive Paul Healy said it was a “complex and urgent challenge”.
“Given the ever-escalating number of cyber threats and the serious risks these pose right across our economy, Skillnet Ireland understood the strategic significance of CSI and we were pleased to provide funding to Technology Ireland to develop the initiative.”
