The Winter School of the CyberMACS Program, an Erasmus Mundus Master’s Program focused on training future experts in the field of applied cybersecurity, was held between February 12 and 16, 2024. Hosted by Kadir Has University, the program coordinator, the Winter School brought together experienced experts and academics in the cybersecurity sector with a comprehensive training program. This year’s main theme was determined as “cybersecurity of critical infrastructures”, which constitute the cornerstones of the digital society. In the digital world, where cyber threats are becoming increasingly complex and frequent, the importance of cybersecurity is increasing and the need for manpower in the field of cybersecurity is growing. In this context, the CyberMACS Winter School, which aims to close the expert gap in the field of cybersecurity, was implemented with a program that brings together the theoretical knowledge and practical skills that students need in the field of security and critical infrastructures.
CyberMACS Winter School 2024 Highlights:
Interactive lectures: Experienced academics and experts from the cyber security industry gave lectures on emerging trends in cyber security, successful practices and real-life case studies, and shared current developments in the field of cyber security with CyberMACS students.
In the lectures covering a wide range of topics, Dr. Alessandro Lazari (University of Salento/Italy) presented the topic of Critical Infrastructure Protection from a European perspective, while Bora Kose (Fortinet) gave a presentation on cyber incidents targeting Operational Technologies (OT). Güray Oğuzgiray’s (Syncronous Energy Digital Services) comprehensive session on cyber security of energy infrastructures and OT Security Operation Center increased the participants’ awareness of cyber threats targeting critical infrastructures. Sebastian Cesario (BforeAI) and Prof. Dr. Alexander Iliev (SRH Berlin University of Applied Sciences) discussed Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cyber security. Ozan Oguz (Fortinet) provided training on cloud security. Cüneyt Kalpakoğlu (EndPoints) focused on secure coding practices, while Alper Başaran (Sparta Bilişim) shared his experiences on ethical hacking. Alen Bohçelyan (CCI) shared the different perspectives of working as a global Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) with CyberMACS students. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) experts Seher Sağıroğlu and Alperen Eken introduced the basic components and security aspects of the ICANN and DNS (Domain Name System) infrastructure to CyberMACS students.
Workshops with experts: Theoretical lectures were followed by practical workshops. CyberMACS students had the chance to practice managing cyber risks in a comprehensive hands-on workshop on cybersecurity risk management and communication conducted by Bozidar Spirovski (Blue dot and @Sourcico).
Field Trip: A field trip was organized to Sakarya University’s Critical Infrastructures National Testbed Center within the scope of the Winter School. During the field trip, advanced research and practical applications on the protection and management of critical infrastructures were introduced to students under the supervision of Prof. Dr. İbrahim Özçelik, Dr. Murat İskefiyeli and Dr. Musa Balta.
Support for Career Development and the Importance of Diversity: At the CyberMACS Winter School, sessions were held for students on topics such as entrepreneurship, diversity, social skills, how to prepare for a job interview, and what skills are required for cybersecurity careers.
In this context, Arnaud de Vibraye from the European Cybersecurity Organization (ECSO) introduced the activities of ECSO, which aims to close the workforce gap in cybersecurity in the European Union, to CyberMACS students. María Saskia Brugman from the Women4Cyber initiative gave a presentation on the importance of promoting diversity and gender equality in cybersecurity. Knud Brandis from Ernst Young, Germany, organized a session on entrepreneurship in cybersecurity. Burcu Şen from İyibiriz gave an informative presentation on preparing for work life, while Cihan Çelik from ADEO shared his experiences with CyberMACS students on the basic skills required for a career in cybersecurity.
Capture The Flag (CTF) Competition: Students had the opportunity to test their skills in the Capture The Flag (CTF) competition prepared and managed by Ender Gezer (CyberForce). In this competition, they demonstrated their skills by solving different questions about cybersecurity and detecting security vulnerabilities. In the eight-hour competition, students competed fiercely to solve eight challenging questions ranging from cryptology to cyber threat intelligence.
Networking Opportunities: The Winter School encouraged industry collaboration and professional development in the cybersecurity field by providing students with the opportunity to connect with industry veterans, mentors, and potential employers.
The CyberMACS Winter School hosted experts with a variety of experiences and levels of expertise, providing a supportive and inclusive environment for learning and collaboration. A heartfelt thank you to all of our instructors and students who participated this week!