Moot on ‘human factors in cyber security’ concludes

Islamabad:International Conference on Human Factors in Cyber Security organised by Air University concluded at main campus, Islamabad.

Secretary Information Technology Mohsin Mushtaq graced the occasion as chief guest whereas the Vice Chancellor Air University, Air Marshal (r) Javaid Ahmed HI(M), Director National Centre for Cyber Security (NCCS) Prof. Dr. Kashif Kifayat, Dr. Nida Bajwa from the University of Saarland, Germany, Prof. Dr. Bilgin Metin from Bogazici University Istanbul, and Dr. Katharina Krombholz from CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security addressed the participants, emphasizing the utmost significance of applying a psychological approach to raise awareness, understand, and curtail cyber security incidents in today’s digital world.

Moreover, Director ORIC Air University, Air Commodore (r) Afzaal Ahmed Khan and Dr. Nida Bajwa from University of Saarland, Germany signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and agreed to establish the relationship between two Universities to further enhance the cooperation in academic, scientific & cultural domains in the opening ceremony of the conference.

The Secretary IT, Mohsin Mushtaq, while addressing the ceremony emphasized that most important requirement for securing our digital assets is to have a pool of talented and skilled human capital. “I feel delighted to know that this conference is a part of the European Union-funded project ReCyP:HER (i.e. Rethinking Cyber Security In Pakistan: Human Factors Essential Role) awarded to a consortium of Universities from Pakistan, Türkiye and Germany”, he expressed. Given the borderless nature of cyberspace and cyber threats, it is quite clear that this is not just the task for any single government, he highlighted. Collaboration between cyber security experts from Germany, Pakistan, and Türkiye in the form of this Erasmus+ ReCyP:HER project is a source of encouragement for us.

Vice Chancellor Air University, Air Marshal (r) Javaid Ahmed HI(M) while sharing his views, highlighted that cyber security is a shared responsibility and each of us has a role to play. He said that Air University is committed to producing highly-trained and well-qualified cyber security experts to address the emerging cyber security threats being faced by the country. Certainly, this international event is among the several initiatives taken by Air University to achieve the milestone of being recognized as the leading hub of cybersecurity in Pakistan, he further highlighted.

Director NCCS, Prof. Dr. Kashif Kifayat, in his speech, highlighted that the goal of the Project ReCyP:HER is to create comprehensive capacity building in Pakistan for the area of cybersecurity and the connection with psychological know-how. “I believe this international event shall prove to be instrumental in encouraging and developing a talented pool of students and cyber security enthusiasts to engage in interdisciplinary research by applying a psychological lens to address cyber security”, he stated.

The event consisted of a series of presentations, keynotes, panel discussions and research talks given by renowned cyber security experts and leading psychologists from LUMS, IBA Karachi, Air University, and NUST. A significant number of industry executives, leading academicians, and key representatives of the government and relevant stakeholders attended the conference and lauded this initiative of Air University and the National Centre for Cyber Security as part of the Erasmus+ ReCyP:HER project funded by European Union.