Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 63 | Page 17

NEWS

Cisco to train 10 million people with digital skills over 10 years across EMEA

The future of innovation , growth and global competitiveness depends on building a strong digital economy which in turn is dependent upon a digitally skilled workforce . According to the World Economic Forum , by 2025 , advances in technology and automation will eliminate 85 million jobs while creating 97 million new jobs globally .

Cisco has announced its goal to train 10 million people in digital and cybersecurity skills over the next 10 years , across Europe , the Middle East and Africa ( EMEA ). The number of people to be trained is part of Cisco ’ s 10-year ambition to empower 25 million people with digital skills worldwide through Cisco ’ s Networking Academy .

This flagship programme is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and has reached 17.5 million students across 190 countries . Since starting operations in EMEA , it has spread to 120 countries in the region and trained over 6.3 million students – through 5,800 partnerships – with educational institutions and organisations offering Networking Academy courses .
Cisco aspires to equip millions of people around the world with the technical and digital skills required for these new jobs by empowering the workforce of the future through the Networking Academy .
“ We need a global workforce equipped with digital skills to develop sustainable and secure businesses and more equitable societies ,” said Guy Diedrich , SVP and Chief Innovation Officer , Cisco . “ Building a local pool of next-generation talent is critical to long-term social inclusion and economic resilience .”

IBM report reveals vulnerable UK energy system among top targets for cybercriminals

IBM Security has released its 2023 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index , which revealed that the UK ’ s energy industry was among the primary targets for cyberattacks for the second consecutive year , seeing 16 % of all attacks . The UK was the top-attacked country in Europe , accounting for 43 % of the attacks X-Force observed , followed by Germany ( 14 %), Portugal ( 9 %), Italy ( 8 %) and France ( 7 %).

With rising energy bills a key factor in the squeeze on UK consumer finances , the report highlights the threat of further pressure on an already vulnerable energy sector and the potential for data breach costs to trickle down to consumers through price rises . As many UK businesses strive to carefully manage costs , there is heightened risk of cybersecurity investment falling and vulnerabilities proliferating .
The most common impact from cyberattacks in 2022 was extortion , which was primarily achieved through ransomware or Business Email Compromise ( BEC ) attacks . With threat actors often seeking to exploit geopolitical tensions , the report found that Europe was the most targeted region for extortion in 2022 . More than half of the cases X-Force observed in the UK involved extortion ( 57 %) – twice the global average – followed by data theft ( 29 %).
Backdoor deployments – malware that provides remote access – were the most common attacker action observed in the UK in 2022 , comprising 18 % of cases . Gaining backdoor access often precedes ransomware attacks , Distributed Denial of Service ( DDoS ) attacks and deployment of remote access tools , which were each involved in 14 % of UK incidents .
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