The shortage of professionals specialized in cybersecurity in Brazil and in the world is already a reality, as shown by recent research and studies by the International Information System Security Certification Consortium (ISC2) and the Brazilian Association of Information and Communication Technology Companies (Brasscom). “The trend is that in the coming years the situation will worsen, causing a blackout of the workforce”, warns Michelle Wangham, director of articulation with companies of the Brazilian Computer Society (SBC), and research, development and innovation advisor of the National Education and Research Network (RNP).

The topic will be addressed at WRNP 2022 in the session “Accelerated digital transformation and increased risks of cyber attacks: how to prepare the workforce for these challenges?”, on Tuesday (24), at 4 pm. Michelle moderates the panel that is in conjunction with the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Networks and Distributed Systems (SBRC), organized annually by SBC.

The debate brings together Aldri Santos, PhD in Computer Science from UFMG, professor at the same university and member of the information and communication security technical committee of the Communication Society (ComSoc) of IEEE and SBC; Emilio Tissato Nakamura, Director of Cybersecurity at RNP and Master in Computer Science at Unicamp; José Sampaio Gontijo, deputy secretary for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI); and Sergio Paulo Gallindo, president of the Brazilian Association of Information and Communication Technology Companies (Brasscom) since 2014.

For Michelle, “we need to map the risks that the lack of cybersecurity professionals can bring to the market and discuss actions to train and attract professionals to the area”. According to her, the objective of the panel is to listen, debate and plan strategies so that a collaborative network to support the training of the cybersecurity workforce can be constituted.

The guests for this panel represent actors who suffer from the problems that will be debated and who are already engaged in actions to address the challenge of training professionals in the area. Sergio Paulo Gallindo, president of Brasscom, will present the association's vision and the actions already initiated by it. José Sampaio Gontijo presents the Government's strategies and initiatives, Aldri Santos will bring the point of view of the Academy and the researchers and Emilio Nakamura will indicate how RNP can act in the training of professionals, in addition to debating other support actions, such as the availability of infrastructures for experimentation in the field of cybersecurity.

WRNP 2022 will be held online next week, on the 23rd and 24th, and registration to participate is still open. The RNP Workshop is a free event aimed at researchers, professors, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as IT and innovation professionals. to check the full schedule and secure your spot, visit wrnp.rnp.br.