Group-IB and University of Naples Federico II set up Threat Hunting & Investigation Competence Centre

Group-IB, one of the leading providers of solutions dedicated to detecting and preventing cyberattacks, identifying online fraud, investigation of high-tech crimes and intellectual property protection, partnered University of Naples Federico II (UNINA) to advance the university’s cybersecurity branch by establishing a Threat Hunting & Investigation Competence Centre.

The centre will serve as a living lab for students who will be able to dive into the world of innovative cybersecurity technologies, learn more about various types of threats and notorious cybercriminals along with their evolution. Adding Group-IB on board as one of its partners, the Naples University provides a way for its students to learn from battle-tried cybercrime investigators, cybersecurity analysts, incident response specialists, as well as threat and fraud hunting experts, while at the same to get acquainted with the company’s proprietary solutions for the prevention and investigation of cyberattacks and protection against online fraud and digital risks.

Amid constantly increasing cyber risks for business, public and non-profitable organizations, cybersecurity is turning into one of the most high-demand business fields. It suffices to consider that the number of open positions in this field was reported to have jumped by 350% from 2013 to 2021. Federico II and Group-IB will be developing their cooperation around three major areas: the transfer of knowledge, industry projects, and internships for students.

The joint Threat Hunting & Investigation Competence Centre will serve as a platform for onsite threat hunting and cyber investigation training for both university students and its teaching staff. The supported training activities will also be open to external participants — post-graduate students, cybersecurity professionals, and companies.

We are happy to inaugurate this competence centre in collaboration with Group-IB. Federico II is increasingly at the forefront of training initiatives on IT security issues, with an offer that ranges from standard training courses such as degrees and advanced courses, to initiatives more oriented to the business world, such as, precisely, the Threat Hunting & Investigation Competence Centre. We aim to train innovative professionals ready for the ‘new jobs’ and new employment challenges for the current market and that of the immediate future.

Matteo Lorito

Rector of the University Federico II of Naples

Today, the world is in acute need of cybersecurity professionals — as cyberattacks become more and more frequent each year, the amount of highly-trained experts who will be able to repel the influx of these incidents should increase as well. I hope that together with UNINA we will help students to form the fundamental knowledge in the cybersecurity and also strengthen their determination in pursuing a career in this field. Those eager to take a further dive into the cybersecurity world can break new ground and continue mastering their knowledge during an internship at one of Group-IB’s offices. Working side-by-side with cybersecurity professionals, undergraduates can decide on the specific role they want to have in their future career and get a major asset to their CV by getting practice in one of the leaders in the cybersecurity industry and an official partner of international law enforcement agencies.

Giulio Vada

Head of Business Development Italy at Group-IB

The Threat Hunting & Investigation Competence Centre will serve as a platform for threat hunting and cyber investigation training for both university students and faculty. The training activities promoted will also be open to external participants such as PhD students, cybersecurity professionals and companies.

The competence centre becomes part of the numerous research and education activities carried out by Federico II in partnership with major industrial players, with the aim of fostering innovation and reciprocal contamination. The focus on cybersecurity does represent a fundamental tile in the overall mosaic of competences that are more and more required in a social, political and economic context in which the “real„ and the digital spaces intermingle and influence each other in a way that is becoming more and more articulated. The cooperation with Group-IB will allow us to shape highly-skilled professional profiles capable of providing their contribution in a number of operational environments, thanks to the competences acquired in a dynamic academic context characterized by a high degree of innovation.

Simon Pietro Romano

Professor of Network Security at Federico II