Although it is by relative numbers, a small subsection of the IT industry in Calgary, cybersecurity experts have become increasingly important in the face of increasingly sophisticated hacks and attacks.

Tackling the skills gap in cybersecurity was the goal of the annual BSides cybersecurity conference, which was held at Bow Valley College on Nov. 16 and 17.

The goal, said lead organizer for the conference James Cairns, was to connect students, early career graduates, mid-level professionals, and long-term experts together to build skills, network—and even hack a few networks.

“We’re trying to make sure that we get those skills, those students that are skilled, into these roles in an efficient manner, because that’s probably one of the most crucial things we’re seeing in the industry,” said Cairns.

“Cybersecurity is not just one thing, it’s not just hackers. It is people that are on the defensive side of things, so security operations centre analysts doing work in secure operations centres and doing digital forensics and responses, to those that are on the offensive side. They’re learning and finding where these holes and vulnerabilities are.”

The growth in the number of attendees at BSides, both in person and virtually, has mirrored the importance that has been placed by industry on being cyber secure. This year 680 people attended in person, and 120 virtually—up by more than 25 per cent from the previous year.

According to data from Statistics Canada, the number of cybercrimes reported to police has risen dramatically, going from 1,706 in 2017 in Calgary to 3,179 in 2022. Across Canada, the total has risen from 27,829 to 74,073 in the same period.