12-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Students to be offered cyber crime protection training
Cyber Resilience and You! Is a free online module that teaches students how to tackle the threats, including phishing attempts, online scams and protecting their devices with essentially security updates.
It was funded by the Scottish Government and developed in collaboration with Scottish universities and colleges, and it takes around one hour to complete.
It will be distributed to every college and university in Scotland and comes days after Edinburgh's schools and early learning centres were targeted in a phishing attack that resulted in pupils being locked out of revision resources ahead of exams.
There has been a number of cyber attacks in the UK in recent weeks with supermarkets Marks and Spencer and the Co-op both targeted.
MSP Graeme Dey helped launched the training resource (Image: Abertay University) This new resource will help to teach students at the universities how to protect themselves at a time when it is on the rise.
Mr Dey said: 'As we become increasingly digitally connected, the threat of cyber attacks is constant, making it crucial for students to be prepared to deal with these risks during their study.
'This new learning resource provides an opportunity for everyone to enhance their cyber resilience and safeguard against potential threats, whether they are a beginner or already familiar with cyber security.'
The new resource was launched during Abertay University's inaugural Cyber Student Showcase, which is a public event to feature innovative projects of final year Computing, Cybersecurity and Ethical Hacking students.
More than 20 student projects were showcased on a variety of topics including the development of a user-friendly automated vulnerability assessment tool, a one-time password authentication system, a methodology for attributing cyber attacks to specific threat groups and much more.
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Dr Natalie Coull, Head of the Department of Cybersecurity and Computing, said: 'I am delighted to see the Abertay cyberQuarter hosting the launch of this important resource, reaffirming our status as Scotland's hub for cybersecurity research and innovation. This launch is particularly meaningful, as it aligns perfectly with our commitment to fostering the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.
'I am also glad that Mr Dey had the opportunity to engage with our talented students as they showcase their impressive work. Their innovative thinking and commitment showcase their abilities and suggest bright prospects for their futures in cybersecurity and computing."
Abertay introduced the world's first Ethical Hacking degree in 2006 and was recently named Cyber University of the Year at the UK Cyber Awards.
