SCOTTISH students have been praised for their skills identifying threats from cyber-space at the largest online security conference to be held in the country.

Internet security professionals and members of the intelligence community met with students at the Securi-Tay conference hosted by Abertay University, Dundee.

They were given presentations on the ways hackers exploit vulnerabilities in online systems to steal personal data, commit cyber crimes and even threaten the national security of individual states.

The conference serves as a platform for students to show their knowledge to firms eager to recruit the best young minds studying computer security courses.

More than 300 delegates from education, industry and law enforcement attended this year's conference, which is now into it's fourth year, selling out the event yesterday.

Among the topics covered were problems of wearable technology such as smart watches, techniques to hide malicious software from anti-virus programmes, and weaknesses in online point of sale systems.

Rorie Hood, a Junior Consultant with NWR infosecurity, was one of the industry figures to attend the conference. He said that he had been impressed with the students' abilities, and that there was currently a shortage of good graduates entering the information security industry.

He said: "It's fantastic to see the level of development that's gone into the conference and they quality of the research the students are doing.

"I'm very impressed with the level of skill the students are showing with their presentations and we are looking to recruit people for our graduate programme.

"The cybersecurity industry covers very diverse topics, from malware on people's computers to preventing people actively exploiting programmes to gain illicit access, and there is a skills shortage in this area that courses such as the one at Abertay are helping to fill."

The one-day event also featured a number of security challenges, including a hacking challenge and a head-to-head programming challenge from GCHQ.

Dom Cashley, President of the Abertay Ethical Hacking Society and lead organiser of the conference, said that this year's event had been the most successful yet.

He said: "It's all about bringing together people from the industry and the students and it's a really good experience for future graduates.

"One of the main aims is to prepare students for the industry, so it is important they meet with professionals and establish a relationship with them.

"The conference has been running for four years ano and it keeps getting bigger and attracting more and more delegates because of the quality of the presentations that are on offer."

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