AIR Institute promotes the importance of cybersecurity culture at SME conference in León

The digitalisation process is increasingly expanding in the business sector as a means of increasing the productivity and efficiency of institutions. However, coupled with this, it also increases their vulnerability to cyber-attacks. For this reason, the AIR Institute promoted the need for a cybersecurity culture, especially in the field of SMEs, at the Conference on Cybersecurity in SME Environments, held at the Gaviria Palace in the province of León.

At the conference, Ms. Nuria González Rabanal, member of the CIBERIA Consortium of the University of León, presented two papers to disseminate the culture of cybersecurity. The first one focused on the importance of cyberprotection as a professional and the second one on overcoming the fear of cybersecurity audits.

In the professional context, she said, threats such as phishing, ransomware, supply chain attacks, weak passwords or missed security updates are often encountered. These threats have consequences such as theft of credentials, exposure of the financial and personal data of customers and/or employees, as well as damage to the reputation and reliability of the centre.

These situations can be prevented by implementing a protection strategy in the company, including regular cybersecurity audits, as well as employee education and training.

CIBERIA

The CIBERIA project, through conferences and training in cybersecurity and digital transformation, aims to promote the development of digital solutions and economic growth in the field of cross-border SMEs between Spain and Portugal.

In addition to AIR Institute, the project has 10 other partners from Castilla y León and Central Portugal: University of Salamanca (USAL), BISITE Research Group, University of León (ULE), CIDAUT Foundation, University of Salamanca Science Park Foundation, the Supercomputing Centre of Castilla y León (SCAYLE), the Universidade da Biera Interior (UBI), the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda, the Comunidade Intermunicipal das Bieras e Sierra da Estrela (CIM-BSE) and Secure Networks, Consultadoria Informática.