Digital Heists Uncovered: How Elite Hackers Break In - and How Cybersecurity Stops Them
When:
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Venue:
Birkbeck Main Building, Malet Street
No booking required
Digital Heists Uncovered: How Elite Hackers Break In - and How Cybersecurity Stops Them
The golden age of high-stakes bank robbery isn’t over - it has moved online. Today, the world’s most sophisticated heists unfold in data centres, corporate networks, and digital vaults. Join us at Birkbeck, University of London, for an interactive BSc Computer Science for Cybersecurity taster session that reveals how major cyberattacks happen, and how cybersecurity professionals stop them.
You’ll examine real incidents such as the Sony Pictures breach and coordinated global ATM cashouts, analysing how advanced hacking groups identify weaknesses, exploit human behaviour, and penetrate systems designed to be secure. This isn’t just a look at how attackers operate - it’s an opportunity to answer the crucial question: how do we stop them?
You’ll explore how cybersecurity specialists work, from Red Team tactics that simulate attacks to Blue Team strategies that strengthen systems and respond to threats. Key concepts like encryption, zerotrust architecture, secure software design, and socialengineering defence will be introduced in a practical, industryrelevant way.
You’ll also gain a clear understanding of what studying Cybersecurity at Birkbeck involves, how this pathway prepares you for careers in ethical hacking, digital forensics, secure development, and why skilled cybersecurity professionals are urgently needed.
You will then visit Birkbeck's Immersive Learning Centre, our hub for innovative digital technologies and learning, before taking a tour of our central London campus in the heart of the city.
If you’re drawn to hacking, problemsolving, or protecting the digital world, this session shows how your curiosity can become a career. Ready to see what the frontline of cybersecurity looks like?
About the speaker
Dr Keith Mannock is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Computing and Mathematical Sciences who has been shaping the field of computer science at Birkbeck since 1986. An expert in programming languages, software engineering, artificial intelligence, and visual information systems, he combines decades of academic excellence with industry collaboration, having worked with global technology leaders including Microsoft, Apple, Oracle, and Google. He also holds many professional memberships, including from the British Computer Science and the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, and has contributed to many opensource projects.
Contact name: Linda Halimi
Speakers- Dr Keith Mannock
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