Rethinking Cybersecurity in Pakistan – Human factors’ Essential Role Erasmus Project

Project Title

Rethinking Cybersecurity in Pakistan – Human factors’ Essential Role

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Capacity Building in higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics:

Project Summary

Newspapers nowadays almost daily report on security breaches, compromised personal information, and cybercriminal activities, and no country is immune from cyberattacks (Symantec Report, 2019). Pakistan is not immune to these attacks and becoming an increasing target of cybercriminal activities, as many companies and the government are increasing their presence in the cyberspace. That is why cybersecurity currently is one of the most important domains within computer science. With considerable delay, the Pakistani government has expanded its digital agenda to prioritize the issue of cybersecurity, as there is great shortage of expertise in this field in Pakistan. This shortage is the result of a lacking university-enterprise collaboration in the domain of cybersecurity, especially due to a lack of employability of many of Pakistans cybersecurity graduates, as, amongst technical aspects, there is a lack of interdisciplinary perspectives on cybersecurity in Pakistan, especially in the domain of human factors. To strengthen the links of HEIs to the industry in the domain of cybersecurity and increase the employability of IT students, it is necessary to have a holistic approach to cybersecurity. And this is where ReCyP:HER steps in by addressing cybersecurity training issues in university degree programs and making them more immersive and experience-based, building capacity in the domain of human factors in cybersecurity by upskilling psychologists in Pakistan as well as establishing interdisciplinary formats directly targeted at IT students, enabling Pakistani partner universities to stretch out their arms to the industry by creating a platform on which the industry delivers input for university students to solve real-world problems and lastly creating a cybersecurity awareness center that serves as a training and exploration facility for students, IT experts from the industry, freelance workers, and the average Pakistani public alike, creating a secure society.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 1000000 Eur

Project Coordinator

UNIVERSITAT DES SAARLANDES & Country: DE

Project Partners

• NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCES ANDTECHNOLOGY AT ISLAMABAD
• INSTITUTE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION KARACHI
• AIR UNIVERSITY
• BOGAZICI UNIVERSITESI
• LAHORE UNIVERSITY OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES