WMG at the University of Warwick is delighted to announce the appointment of cyberpsychologist Professor Monica Whitty, who joins the Cyber Security research team from the University of Leicester, as Professor of Human Factors in Cyber Security.

As WMG’s first cyberpsychologist, Professor Whitty will work alongside colleagues in WMG’s Cyber Security Centre concentrating on the human element focusing on behaviour online to identify cyber criminals and in turn protect people from becoming victims.

Professor Whitty’s research spans 15 years focusing on the way individuals behave in cyberspace examining identities created in cyberspace, online security risks as well as detecting and preventing cybercrimes (e.g., mass-marketing fraud, insider threats).

"Breaches continue to take place without companies identifying the breach, or at least the full impact of the breach. The time taken between the breach occurring and notification to those whose details are breached can leave to risk of compromise of other accounts.

"We have an issue about how we authenticate ourselves to systems currently - mostly relying solely on passwords or personal information (when a password is forgotten)."

Carsten Maple, Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering at WMG's Cyber Security Centre (CSC)

We are delighted that WMG has been awarded seven tuition fee bursaries through the UK Government’s National Cyber Security Programme, for individuals to retrain in cyber security.

Sponsored by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the bursaries are part of a pilot programme to address the significant mismatch in the supply and demand of adequately skilled cyber security professionals.

The project has been a huge help to the seven students who wouldn’t have been able to take up their studies without financial support. Current MSc Cyber Security and Management student, Ella-Karita Halsey commented: “I was overwhelmed when I was offered a bursary. I believe the bursary is set to propel me into a career within cyber security, and the GCHQ provisionally certified route of study gives a wide range of interesting topics, that are recognized as industry standard within the cyber community”. Davina Pattni also received a bursary to study for her MSc Cyber Security and Management: “The bursary has given me an opportunity to fast track my career within the cyber security industry."

Professor Carsten Maple from the Cyber Security Centre at WMG at the University of Warwick is an expert on cyber systems engineering. He comments on the Tesco Bank security breach.

“We have learned of another high profile breach this morning – this time, Tesco Bank. As yet we know little of how the breach occurred, but what we do know is that a number of accounts were subjected to "online criminal activity" over the weekend, with "some cases" resulting in money being withdrawn fraudulently. Of course Tesco has stated it will refund money to those affected, but failed to answer two key questions: How did the breach occur and what about the impact and associated costs for those affected?

“For the first question, it may not be necessary to provide this answer today, but it will be important. Were card machines breached? Was there a human error either within Tesco or one of its partners? These questions will be important as they will determine the follow-up actions needed by Tesco and it customers.

WMG Honorary Fellow, Professor Colin Williams, will be delivering a series of special weekly lectures exploring The Human Story of Cybernetics.

The nine-week course at WMG’s Cyber Security Centre, commences on Thursday 13^th October with ‘When Minds Explode,’ focusing on the intellectual history of the initialisation and early development of Cybernetics. Other lectures include ‘Meat the Machine’ and ‘Cauldrons of Fire and Crucibles of Ice.’

The Cyber Security Centre at WMG, University of Warwick, has teamed with IBM (NYSE: IBM) to develop a module for its Cyber Security master’s course portfolio which addresses key strategic cyber security issues relating to business, particularly from the perspective of an organisation's Chief Information Security Officer.

With as many as 1.5 million unfilled cyber security jobs worldwide expected by 2020, the low availability of professionals with specialised cyber skills is one of the biggest issues facing organisations looking to defend their core business systems against cyber-attacks.

The WMG Cyber Security Centre team and IBM are addressing this skills gap by building a as it has been developed in collaboration with an enterprise security provider of international standing. The fully assessed module began in May 2016 and is part of the University of Warwick’s MSc in Cyber Security and Management, designed for those wishing to develop a career as a cyber security professional, or to take a leading technical or managerial role in an organisation critically dependent upon data and information communication technology. The course is available to study part-time, in order to attract business professionals who want to have the option to study alongside their work.

WMG’s SME Group is giving food for thought, with two exciting events scheduled for next week.

Internet of Things (IoT) Midlands

On Tuesday 12 July, the 12^th Internet of Things (IoT) Midlands UK event will take place. The theme for this event is Data and Security. There’ll be an opportunity to network with the SME team and other delegates, as well as hear from key speakers including: Steve Robbin, MD of Kairos CyberTec Ltd; Hugh Boyes Principal Fellow at WMG’s Cyber Security Centre, and Craig Heath, Working Group Chair IoT Security Foundation.

To register visit: https://www.meetup.com/IoTMidlands

WMG at the University of Warwick has been tasked with delivering two significant parts of a project to create one of the world’s most advanced environments for connected and autonomous driving.

Announced on June 1^st, the globally unique UK Connected Intelligent Transport Environment (UK CITE) project is worth a total of £7.1m and has won funding from the government’s £100 million Intelligent Mobility Fund. The fund, which has been established to accelerate research and development in connected and autonomous vehicle technologies, is administered by the Centre for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CCAV) and delivered by the UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK.

WMG, University of Warwick, has joined forces with the University of Oxford and Imperial College London to launch ‘Autonomous Driving Challenge 2016’, for all ages.

The Challenge aims to encourage the next generation of designers and engineers to really push the boundaries of robotics. There will be a range of prizes in different age categories: ages 4-8, 9-12, 13-17 and 18+. Participants must design and create their own vehicle, make a racetrack and ‘teach’ their vehicle to drive freely around it.

Carsten Maple, WMG’s Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering, said: “As founding members of the EPSRC UK Robotics and Autonomous Systems Network we are pleased to be working in collaboration with Imperial College London and the University of Oxford to coordinate Autonomous Driving Challenge 2016.

Professor of Cyber Systems Engineering, Carsten Maple, from the Cyber Security Centre at WMG, University of Warwick has been appointed as the Chair of the Council of Professors and Heads of Computing UK (CPHC).

The Council of Professors and Heads of Computing aims to promote public education in computing and its applications, and to provide a forum for those responsible for management and research in university computing departments. Professor Maple has been the Vice-chair since 2014 and takes over the reins from Sally Smith.

Professor Maple comments: “There is widespread recognition that developing talent in Computing Sciences will play a vital role in the economic and societal development of the United Kingdom. The Council, through the committee and its membership of over 800 Professors and Heads of Department from over 100 institutions, will play a key role in providing this talent. I am proud to lead this effort over the next two years".

In his role at WMG, Professor Maple is also the director of the Cyber Security Centre working with organisations in key sectors such as manufacturing, healthcare, financial services and the broader public sector to address the challenges presented by today's global cyber environment.