Birmingham uni on the front line against ISIS cyber attacks

Birmingham has become one of the first places in the country to fight against potential terrorist cyber attacks.

Brand new innovative cyber security software is being developed by researchers here with help from Leeds Beckett.

Both unis received an £80,000 grant from the Higher Education Academy as part of a £1.9 billion investment set aside by George Osbourne to fight cyber crime.

The grant will be spent developing cyber security software and educational facilities preparing students to deal with cyber security threats.

Dr Emlyn Butterfield, a senior lecturer at Leeds Beckett who is working on the project, said: “They [students] will learn how to hack into computers and websites and also how to protect them.

“These different situations replicate what they might face and helps test their skills.

He continued: “The need to tackle the cyber threat has never been greater.

“You only have to look at the news recently with TalkTalk and Ashley Madison to realise these kind of attacks are occurring. More people are learning how to steal people’s data and we need more security in place to prevent this happening.

“There hasn’t yet been a major cyber terrorist attack, but the fear remains that despite all the sophisticated global security networks at our disposal it’s only a matter of time before one takes place.”