ITMO University’s Safety and Security of Critical Information Technologies international research center was launched on May 14. Its goal is to provide students with scientific and practical skills in cybersecurity using real cases. The support center of the National Cyber Testing Ground will be the core of the new organization and a platform for solving security tasks at the intersection of science and business.
“There is a lack of qualified specialists in the field of information security. ITMO’s program is built in such a way as to give students the most recent knowledge in the field that is necessary for prospective professional activities. Application of this knowledge at the National Cyber Testing Ground will allow us to train specialists with very practical experience, which will make them more valuable for potential employers,” says Vladimir Vasilyev, rector of ITMO University.
The National Cyber Testing Ground was created by Rostelecom within the Digital Economy initiative. Its key feature, the Cybermir platform, is a fully-equipped technological infrastructure where students can solve specific tasks on realistic models. These models simulate various types of infrastructures from the basic sectors of economy: there is an office infrastructure with corporate tools of information security, including postal and web services, a financial and a bank one where the focus lies on securing financial operations and personal data, as well as an electric energy infrastructure, in which typical objects of electric networks are simulated using real equipment, such as relay protection and automation terminals, transient monitoring devices, dispatcher control systems, and other industrial automation systems.
Caption: The argeement on creation of a support center of the National Cyber Testing Ground at ITMO University
“The Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation and Rostelecom’s project of a cyber testing ground has launched a very important process of practice-oriented training of future specialists in information security. It will help solve the task of preparing specialists in this field, and Rostelecom, a leader in the field of cybersecurity, aims to make training at the testing ground as accessible as possible to the leading Russian universities,” says Igor Lyapunov, vice president of Rostelecom in information security.
As of now, there are support centers of the cyber training ground in Moscow, on Russky Island, at the federal territory Sirius, and in Novosibirsk. ITMO will finalize the new structure by the end of 2021. The center’s resources will be used for the training of students at the Faculty of Secure Information Technologies. For example, they will be able to practice the skills of fighting cyberattacks, study the level of security at real companies, and test vulnerabilities of industrial devices and software.
“Expertise in cybersecurity should be supplemented by practical skills. Synthesis and analysis of digital counterparts of various industries is a prospective and efficient approach for training of detection, prevention, and study of different attacks. ITMO University aims to research and develop models for digital counterparts in the field of cybersecurity,” says Danil Zakoldaev, dean of ITMO’s Faculty of Secure Information Technologies.
The National Cyber Testing Ground is implemented in accordance with the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation’s demand by Rostelecom with the support of its branch company, Rostelecom Solar.
