Companies have learnt about cyber-attacks

Staff from the School of Engineering (JTH) at Jönköping University (JU) have trained 120 people from small and medium-sized enterprises how to protect themselves against cyber-attacks.

"We want to get companies and organizations to start thinking about and strengthening their cybersecurity," says Erik Bergström, Assistant Professor Computer Science and Programme Manager for the Cybersecurity Master Programme at JTH.

Erik Bergström, together with Joakim Kävrestad, Assistant Professor Computer Science, and Sonny Johansson, Lecturer Informatics at JTH, have held eight workshops on basic cyber security and cyber-attacks. The target group has mainly been small and medium-sized companies, as they often have shortcomings in this area. The participants have largely been people in management positions, so Erik Bergström believes that the information will reach far more than them.

"Our hope is that they implement at least basic security measures at their companies, such as turning on two-factor authentication to protect their accounts, and to work proactively on cybersecurity," says Erik Bergström.

Good response

He thinks that the response from the participants has been good and mentions that several people have realized that they need to improve their cyber security. Some of the participants at the last workshop on 5 February were Bodil Kihlberg and Jakob Bäckrud, who work in auditing and 3D rendering.

"I came here to update myself on IT security and reduce the risk of being scammed. It was a good review and rewarding to discuss these issues with other entrepreneurs, says Bodil Kihlberg.

Getting the right mindset from the start

Jakob Bäckrud attended the workshop to have the right mindset from the start for his company about cybersecurity and what he can do to avoid to avoid falling victim to cyberattacks.

"You need to be able to manage your systems in case that happens and I have learned more about that here. My customers should be able to trust me to take care of what they send me in a good and secure way, even if it concerns sensitive material," Jakob Bäckrud says.

"Felt updated"

He thinks that the workshop felt updated and that Erik Bergström and Joakim Kävrestad, who participated from JTH at this workshop, work creatively and have great knowledge of cybersecurity.

Erik Bergström mentions that in the future they may test some other concept on cybersecurity than a workshop in order to continue with the third task of universities, to share knowledge.

Read about our bachelor program Networks, Infrastructure and Cybersecurity here Opens in new window.

Read about our Master's program in Cybersecurity here Opens in new window.