The first intensive course on cyber education in the Republic of Belarus
Republican unitary enterprise "National traffic exchange center" and RTK-Solar held the first intensive course on cyber education in the Republic of Belarus
On January 28, the country’s first 6-day intensive training course on cyber education for Belarusian organizations ended in Minsk, including cyber training on protecting infrastructure and responding to typical hacker attacks. The organizer was the International Education Center of the Republican Unitary Enterprise "National Traffic Exchange Center" (hereinafter referred to as NTEC), the intensive course was conducted by practicing teachers of the RTK-Solar company.
The intensive was attended by more than 20 representatives of enterprises and companies from the banking and chemical industries, representatives of telecommunication operators and universities, the retail sector, and manufacturers of solutions in the field of information security.
During the first three days, students studied the basic principles of comprehensive information security, practiced setting up security tools for the Linux OS, and analyzed network traffic for the presence of suspicious and hacker activity. Over the next two days, students became familiar with typical attack techniques and tactics most often used by hackers, and in practical classes they mastered basic methods and means of defense, building an effective defense strategy. The final of the last day of the intensive was testing the acquired knowledge using the RTK-Solar cyber range.
To conduct cyber training, RTK-Solar specialists deployed a digital twin of a typical organization’s infrastructure and developed automated attack scenarios that repeated the actions of real attackers. Students practiced interaction in countering highly professional hacker groups aimed at blocking the work of organizations, stealing valuable corporate data, and disrupting the functioning of public services.
"The intensive training included our new approach to cybersecurity education: the ratio of lecture material to practical exercises was 30% to 70%. Starting with mastering basic concepts and practices, students gradually familiarized themselves with typical defense techniques and tactics to counter hacker attacks. Initially, in the role of a first-line SOC operator, they investigated the sequence of a hacker's actions during an attack on the company's infrastructure, and then fought against a ransomware attack," noted Vladimir Perminov, Director of Special Projects at "RTK-Solar".
The training helped Belarusian students gain new knowledge and advanced experience from colleagues in the Russian Federation, as well as identified growth areas for information security specialists of participating companies.
Representatives of the Operations and Analysis Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus, as well as the deputy director of the state enterprise NTEC, came to hear first-hand feedback from the participants in the first stream of the intensive course.
"I am pleased that the meeting between the Operational Analytical Center under the President of the Republic of Belarus and representatives of the RTK-Solar company initiated the start of collaboration, leading to the implementation of this project. The training course proved to be highly practical and engaging. The course turned out to be truly practical and very interesting. I am confident that it will be well-received by cybersecurity specialists in the newly established centers, licensees of the OAC, as well as representatives from the banking, petrochemical, and energy industries," emphasized Evgeniy Liplyanin, a representative of the OAC.
The training ended with the presentation of personalized certificates from the RTK-Solar company and state-issued certificates of advanced training from the International Education Center NTEC to the students, as well as a discussion of plans for conducting the next intensive cyber education, including cyber training.