UKZN Academics Form Part of New Global Cyber Security Group

BY: .

School of Management, Information Technology and Governance academics Dr Brett van Niekerk, Professor Manoj Maharaj and PhD student Ms Trishana Ramluckan are part of a new Information Processing (IFIP) working group commissioned to explore how Information and Communication Technologies affect or threaten individuals, society or nations in relation to either war or peace. 

Van Niekerk holds the position of Group Secretary while Maharaj and Ramluckan who are researching the use of social media in crisis communications are members of the international group that is part of the IFIP and represents Information Technology societies from 56 countries and connects more than 3 500 scientists from academia and the industry.

Commenting on how serving in the group will benefit teaching and learning, Van Niekerk said: ‘Participating in the working group allows the researchers to access and interact with some of the top international researchers in the related fields of study. This creates opportunities for international collaborative research and to showcase the research done at UKZN.’  

The group will focus on promoting innovative and creative thinking in the ITC field by utilising the efforts of academia and research institutions, industry, governments, civic society, and the military to come up with research papers, current research or the results of research in progress, case studies, use cases, lessons learned, and risk assessment/impact assessment to address the challenges in this field. 

The chair of the group, Dr Louise Leenen, described the academics’ contributions over the past five years as vital to ensuring the establishment of the group.

‘The UKZN staff members have acted as reviewers of papers, done presentations and attended workshops. Dr van Niekerk, in particular, has helped with correspondence, organising workshops, and gathering support for the group locally and internationally,’ said Leenen.

-           Thandiwe Jumo