The cybersecurity projects with the brightest future

The projects most demanded in the cybersecurity field are those pertaining to protecting information, as explained by Juan Antonio Cortés, a teacher with the ICT Department at INESEM Business School. “Right now, in our day-to-day activities we perform bank operations digitally, we purchase at a wide variety of online shops and, in short, we provide highly-valuable information to numerous companies”. 

A few years ago, these companies hardly paid any attention to safekeeping the information, an objective that is now essential to preventing and combating high-impact attacks such as ransomware and sensitive database leaks”. Those projects and professionals who focus on protecting, preventing and containing this type of security breaches are currently quite popular in Spain. Even more so since large corporations and national services have been compromised, with the leaking of data on hundreds of thousands of users”. 

Promoting a digital culture

The coronavirus pandemic has sped up the digitalisation of society, promoting the use of new technologies in all areas, which has also increased the risks and vulnerabilities, points out Adrián Nicolás Marchal, Coordinator of the Law Department and Director of the Master’s on Intelligence and Cyber Intelligence Analysis of the Universidad Nebrija.

In the new scenario, this expert points out the importance of projects that focus on promoting digital culture for the people, which is “one of the best tools in preventing online delinquency”. This culture will also benefit companies, because “cyberattacks usually centre on employee oversights or lack of knowledge on cybersecurity”. 

Cyberincidents

To encourage cybersecurity is a goal for both the private and public sector. Marco Lozano, head of Cybersecurity for Companies at INCIBE, explains the role of the National Cybersecurity Institute. “Our goal is to work to strengthen digital confidence among people, and to increase cybersecurity and resilience in companies, especially smes and essential services. The Institute also contributes to the digital industry and market, with the aim to promote a safe use of cyberspace in Spain, as well as to encourage cybersecurity talent”.

According to Lozano, our society's huge dependence on technology contributes towards increasing the area of exposure. “The greater the amount of technology, the greater the probability of there being a breakdown, a problem or an incident”. Social engineering, data leaks, phishing, ransomware, being part of a botnet, are only a few of the most common threats, which any person or company should be prepared to face. “Therefore, cybersecurity is especially relevant, because only through implementing it will we be able to overcome these issues, both personally and professionally”.

In recent months we have seen how cyberdelinquency has been featured in the media, due to the cyberincidents it has caused. “A trend that must be stopped and, at INCIBE, we work towards providing solutions to minimise the impact in the event that the threat materialises, and providing knowledge so that both citizens and companies can acquire skills to face them”.