As tales of computer data security – or the lack of it – make the news every other week, the University of Derby’s School of Computing has come up with a cutting edge idea.

Following on from the launch of its Masters course in Forensic Computing and Security last year, and the BSc (Hons) degree version available from next month (September), the School will shortly launch its Derbyshire Information Security Consortium (DISC).

It will stage a free programme of guest speakers on computer security, enabling students and interested firms to hear about the latest ways of keeping data and information secure.

Bringing them together will encourage companies to offer students work placements, giving them experience and benefiting businesses.

Once established, DISC will also consider offering University experts’ skills to firms, as consultants.

The DISC idea came from Harjinder Lallie; University Lecturer in Networks, Forensic Computing and Security. His colleague David Day, Lecturer and Computing Business Champion, is helping with its organisation.

Harjinder said: “Security is about stopping the ‘bad guys’ from doing things to our computers in the first place and forensic computing is about investigating systems after something has happened.”

Course graduates’ skills could be useful in areas including:

• helping companies erect cyber defences to block hackers
• tracking those who had illegally entered computer systems
• rescuing deleted or encrypted information in home computers, iPods, mobile phones or vehicle navigation systems as part of a police criminal or other official investigation.

Harjinder added: “Large firms such as a major business services company might have a dozen people working in a forensic computing and security role.”

He said DISC would help those small to medium-sized companies (under 250-300 employees), which often could not afford a full-time person to update their methods of guarding customer data.

A programme for DISC’s first guest speakers will be announced shortly.

For further information about DISC contact Harjinder Lallie on 01332 591731 or email: h.s.lallie@derby.ac.uk.