“To address cybersecurity challenges, it is necessary to understand the different cultures of the world, be aligned in processes, mutual cooperation, in-depth research, and create risk scenarios to accelerate responses and mitigate damage” says Lucía Daniela García, a student of Business Administration and Information Systems, in her interview with LAC4 before the face-to-face training in Santo Domingo. Lucía highlights the importance of multicultural learning and the practical application of concepts such as ethical hacking. Regarding current challenges, she highlights that protecting privacy and security in strategic sectors requires global responses, and emphasizes the importance of strengthening training and cooperation between institutions to create more secure and resilient digital systems. 

You enrolled in the program some time ago. What caught your attention and led you to submit your application?

I am currently studying Business Administration and Information Systems in Organizations, and I have always been interested in data transmission networks, but it is in my work (I currently work for a telecommunications company) where I see different cases every day where customers call to complain about false purchases of services and purchases they are unaware of, as well as complaints where they are contacted and asked for personal data or asked to pay bills by people posing as the company in order to deceive them. This sparked my interest in the subject, not only to be able to help my customers at work, but also on a personal level. My expectations for the course are to acquire valuable knowledge and continue training in this area so that I can help other people on a daily basis. 

The Her CyberTracks program is already more than halfway through since it started in April, and we will soon meet in Santo Domingo for in-person training. How has it been so far?

I think the course is excellent. I am learning a lot and on an international, multicultural level with people from all over the world who share my interests in the field of networks and cybersecurity. I have learned things I didn’t know, such as ethical hacking, which companies hire to mitigate third-party effects and address new challenges from the perspective of malicious intent, as well as the commands and procedures to be able to act at each level of criticality depending on the case. What I foresee is educating myself even more, and my expectation would be to be able to fully implement what I have learned in my work and personal life. 

Given your experience, what do you think are the biggest challenges in cybersecurity today? What do you observe in your daily work?

I understand that the biggest cybersecurity challenges today are the privacy of each individual’s information, such as a person’s identity, the financial system, the healthcare system, and nations’ state secrets for geopolitical reasons, because any information leak is always used for negative purposes. In my work, for example, we have to apply facial biometrics on a daily basis to ensure that the data matches the database of individuals in order to proceed with the relevant procedures, which seems to be the most efficient method at the moment, as other types of validation are prone to fraud.  

Based on your experience, how could international organizations such as the EU and ITU or initiatives such as the LAC4 Center help address these challenges?

In my limited experience, I understand that organizations specializing in this area, as well as political communities, need to understand the different cultures of the world, be aligned in their processes, stay up to date, cooperate with each other through in-depth research, and emulate different case studies by creating large-scale risks to accelerate resolution processes and mitigate potential damage. 

About Lucía Daniela García

Mi nombre es Lucia y soy de la provincia de Entre Ríos- Argentina, hace unos años me mudé a Buenos Aires por mejores oportunidades académicas-laborales y actualmente me encuentro trabajando en el área de las telecomunicaciones. Estoy estudiando las carreras de Adm. de Empresas y Sistemas de Información. Hablo inglés, alemán, francés, italiano y ahora he empezado a estudiar chino y algo de checo; Me gusta mucho leer y soy una persona altruista , solidaria y muy sensible. Amo el conocimiento en general, la naturaleza y me gusta analizar y reflexionar mucho en general.

Her CyberTracks is funded by the Federal Foreign Office of Germany  and the European Union and co-implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in partnership with the Global Programme on Cybercrime of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for the Criminal Justice CyberTrack and the Latin America and Caribbean Cyber Competence Centre (LAC4) for the LAC region. Read more about the program.