Explore IT allows second level students workshop different careers in the IT sector

explore IT – Dr Liam Noonan Programme Leader for Data Analytics and Cybersecurity, LIT pictured above.

Explore IT allows second level students workshop different careers in the IT sector

An increased reliance on online shopping, more people working from home, the growing influence of social media influencers, and the need to conduct business on online platforms are exposing online users to a greater risk of cybercrime.

But LIT Lecturer at the Department of Information Technology and Cyber Security Expert Tom Davis believes that the growing move to working, living, and socialising online is not all bad news fraught with danger, however, particularly for school leavers, as the demand for cybersecurity and data analysis graduates continues to grow expediently.

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Ireland has become a breeding ground for talent in the area, with IT graduates, including LIT graduates, in high demand both nationally and internationally. Beginning this Thursday (April 29, 2021), and continuing for the following two Thursdays, fifth- and sixth-year students, along with further education applicants, will have an opportunity to explore the in-demand IT careers available through free online events and workshops at LIT, entitled Explore IT.

The event will explore careers in Game Design and Development, Computing Data Analytics and Cyber Security.

LIT Lecturer at the Department of Information Technology and Cyber Security Expert Tom Davis.

Mr Davis explained skills in IT are crucial to the future economy, as harvesting and protecting data is central to the smooth running of public and private business of all sizes and the need for skilled graduates in this area continues to grow.

Worldwide spending on information security and risk management systems is expected to increase to $174 billion in 2022.

“While cybercrime has become a reality of modern life, there is significant growth potential for greater employment in the cyber security and prevention sector for future Irish graduates,” explained Mr Davis. 

“One of the great success stories of the technology ecosystem in Ireland has been the proliferation of cyber security businesses. Chief information security officers are turning to Ireland for cyber-security solutions. There are three very good reasons why. These are talent, innovation and trust,” he said.

Ireland is home to more than 50 world-leading cyber-security companies, and, as a result, has become an international hotbed of cyber talent, which is based on bringing business, academia, and government together to collaborate on focused objectives.

Dr Liam Noonan Programme Leader for Data Analytics and Cybersecurity, LIT, explained that with the swift move to online working and living due to the Covid-19 pandemic cybercrime continues to be a growing issue.

“A PwC report has suggested that a surge in business fraud in Ireland is being fuelled by cybercrime and exacerbated by Covid-19. A recent global report by Hiscox Insurance has found that 41% of Irish firms had experienced at least one cyber-attack event in the six-month period from September 2019 to February 2020.

An Garda Síochána figures show that from January 1 2020 to October 31, 2020, 489 online shopping frauds were reported representing an overall loss to Irish citizens of more than €1.27 million.

“Email phishing remains the most common attack vector for such crimes, smartphones are also targeted through SMS phishing (smishing) and malicious links embedded in popular messaging and social media apps. Media influencers are becoming ever more prominent in consumer behaviour thereby becoming another area of potential concern. Meanwhile, some 80% of credit card fraud in Ireland happens when conducting business over the internet,” added Dr Noonan.

To register free of charge for Explore IT, go HERE 

For more stories on Limerick Institute of Technology, go HERE

Did you know that here in LIT we deliver over 120 courses and our graduates are some of the most sought after in the country because of the combination of up-to-the-minute practical and theoretical learning that our students undertake. https://t.co/Fmu61j3O7Q ? ? pic.twitter.com/buaUE3tOes

— LIT (@LimerickIT) April 24, 2021