Once upon a time the only Cybermen to fear were the tinfoil type from Mondas that scared the bejaysus out of Dr Who and his legion of sofa cushion-shielded fans.
Today, however, with the continued integration of the Internet into our work lives and homes, businesses and government bodies, there is a new and altogether more sinister threat: the cyber-terrorist.
This danger grows ever more real simply because of the increasingly pervasive nature of our Internet use.
We are surrendering more personal details online, such as birthdays and the names of our pets on social media (oops, our most popularly chosen passwords are suddenly no longer top secret . . . bad Tiddles!). And we regularly divulge bank details via online banking.
So there’s an exponential risk of organised criminals and politically or religiously motivated terror groups accessing our information and exploiting it for their own nefarious gains.
Even Cybermen are no match for Securi-tay
The need for protection has never been greater. But make no mistake, for every internet banking fraudster, leaker of the saucy bath photo or establishment-targetting terrorist, there is a small army of talented IT professionals fighting for us on the frontline.
This month we have the chance to celebrate these oft unsung heroes, when Scotland’s largest cyber-security conference takes place at Abertay University in Dundee.
Called Securi-tay (Like the river. Get it? Think ‘security’ but in the voice of Gary Tank Commander), the event on February 27 has been organised entirely by ethical hacking students, the next line of defence who will stand in hoodies, bluetoothed mice in hand, to protect us against our cyber foes.
Now in its fourth year, it is the only student-led conference of its type and is run by the Abertay Ethical Hacking Society.
More than 100 renowned experts from the fields of industry, law-enforcement and education are expected to gather together to talk tactics: everything from new defence strategies to combat terrorism to the best ways to establish a career as an ethical hacker.
The one-day programme is made up of lectures and forum discussions, including the intriguingly entitled “How to hack your own career path and stand out” by guest speaker Javvad Malik.
Remember cyber-terrorism can be committed anywhere, to anyone. Someone in Ninewells can hack someone as far away as Broughty Ferry, and vice versa.
Distance is no defence. Just ask Kim Jong-un . . . or any senior executive at Sony Pictures.
The need for vigilance has never been greater, people, so let’s hear it for Securi-tay and the brave men and women engaged in the good fight so that we may surf in peace.
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