According to Dinesh, there are two types of cyber hackers.

‘Some are just geeky and actually help us identify a weakness,’ says the 32-year-old, a Product Security Vulnerability Specialist for Canon Europe Limited in London.

‘Then there are the geopolitical ones who are deliberately malicious – they’re bad people.’

Digital destruction – as Dinesh describes cybercrime – is everywhere and affects everyone, from supermarkets to entire nations like Ukraine.

Before WMG, he worked in large transformation projects in roles including solution architect and vulnerability management.

Despite his decade of experience, this cyber security expert had ‘no degree in cyber security to prove my knowledge’. So, he embarked on WMG’s Cyber Security and Management MSc degree in 2021.

A major advantage was the fact the course was certified by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the UK’s technical authority for cyber threats and part of the government’s intelligence and security organisation GCHQ.

Until WMG, Dinesh defined cyber security as ensuring organisation systems linked to the internet are safeguarded such as virus protection. However, the in-depth learning he gained during his MSc made him realise it is much more than this.

‘Cyber security involves defining the security boundaries and protocols of an entire organisation, for instance physical security including CCTV,’ explains Dinesh.

‘The job is to ensure there’s minimal or no disturbance to a company’s operational business. That means strategizing disaster recovery and ensuring business continuity.’

Thanks to WMG, Dinesh says he gained invaluable knowledge on how to identify an organisation’s security gaps and recommend solutions. Skills that he’s now applying in day-to-day operations to benefit his clients.

In a recent project, he was required to do an interview-based assessment to enhance an organisation’s threat and vulnerability maturity based on their current cyber security. Dinesh describes this as ‘comparatively easy’ because the course struck the ‘perfect balance’ between the technical and functional aspect of protecting IT, OT and IoT systems from attack.

WMG does expect is original ideas from its students. While this was intellectually demanding, Dinesh says the experience was ‘very valuable’, and what he gained will stay with him forever.

To sum this up, he quotes from the musician B.B King: ‘The beautiful thing about learning is nobody can take it away from you.’