Maria Khokhar, a fourth-year Cyber Security, Ethical Hacking and Digital Forensics student at Glasgow Caledonian University, is piloting the first student-led cybersecurity convention in the West of Scotland.
Maria says: “Everybody needs cybersecurity and more people need to be aware of it. Hacking is becoming a serious problem for businesses and the general public”.
Living in an increasingly digitalised world has increased the dangers of having our private information leaked, which makes everyone a vulnerable target.
Maria decided to take the plunge and be the first student to create an event at GCU to bring together a community of like-minded cyber specialists to raise the importance of cyber safety.
She says: “Through the cyber convention event “G3C”, I hope to highlight how our personal information can be abused, especially with some of the recent attacks which have put cyber safety on the forefront. One phone company was recently hacked not due to a technical error, but a human error.”
“Hacking is such an unusual skill, it’s almost like a superpower. I first became interested in the concept of hacking when I was younger and enjoyed playing ethical hacking games online. The games were safe and controlled, but I found the whole idea fascinating.”
“It was never something I thought I could make a career out of until I came across the digital security, forensics and ethical hacking course at GCU. Having these skills in cybersecurity are vital to help reduce vulnerabilities in large companies.”
Aware of the dangers the online world holds and the possibility of having personal information leaked, Maria dreams of sharing her skills to protect others.
Maria says: “Young people and children light up when they realise cyber security’s potential in the world. When I first started my honours degree course, a lot of people didn’t understand what ethical hacking was.
“I love telling people all about my course. I study everything from ethical hacking to digital forensics which is my personal favourite.
“Digital forensics can be as simple as recovering and investigating deleted data on a device. It’s often used by law enforcement to find digital evidence of crime. The possibilities are endless.”
“It’s so important for people to be safe online and understand the dangers that are out there. It’s very easy for people to access your information, some which should not be available to the public.”
G3C welcomes anyone studying a degree at GCU, as well as professionals in the industry to take part in various workshops and learn about the importance of cyber safety and new developments in the field.
Guest speakers include Andy Gill and Weegie Cast who will be hosting an engaging Q and A session.
Maria says: “This event is a great way to showcase what GCU is doing for cybersecurity and the digital world. It’s about enforcing our student-teacher partnership to create a powerful network.
Maria is also reaching out to students at GCU to join the Ethical Hacking Society which was originally set up in 2014 and given a new lease of life in 2017.
The society offers one to one training sessions to provide support for people who want to learn more and develop their skills.
She says: “Our society is one of the most popular and fastest-growing societies at GCU.”
“With the rise in social media, people now have access to confidential information. For example, taking a photo when you go on holiday and sharing those details of your flight boarding passes can provide people with access to your flight times and your seat by just looking at the barcode. It’s important that we take safety precautions to ensure scenarios like this don’t occur.”
G3C encourages active participation from students at GCU with games, delegate bags, and an after-party.
Maria highlights the numerous advantages for students who attend these events and networking opportunities with experts in the field.
She says: “It’s going to be a great year for members to practise our learned skills in real-life scenarios.”
Students have the opportunity to gain experience in the industry, kicking off with the Cyber Clinic which is a free student-led service to educate the public about cybersecurity.
“We can help students to find their feet in the industry, which can be difficult. Thanks to networking opportunities, I was employed as a Cyber Consultant working with companies to ensure they collect data correctly and use it safely so that it does not leak any information.”
G3C 2019 takes place on Saturday the 12th of October from 9am-5pm at Glasgow Caledonian University. It was announced on Tuesday the 8th of October that tickets were sold out!
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Feature Image Credit- Agnieszka Agnes Michalska
