Donal O'Regan, 12 May
A DATA science student from Adare has won a top entrepreneurship award.
Gillian O’Donnell, who is in her final year at University College Cork
(UCC) has won its computer science entrepreneurship award for 2024,
beating eight other students.
It came after she impressed judges with her project which looked at
defending computer security attacks.
The genesis of the scheme occurred when she was on a third-year work
placement, and saw significant vulnerabilities which can be caused by
attacks from artificial intelligence systems.
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Artificial intelligence is a technology that allows computers and
digital devices to learn, read, write, create and analyse.
Explaining her project, Gillian said: “As AI progresses, so does the
sophistication of AI-driven cyberattacks. My project addresses the
complexity of AI-driven attacks by using machine learning to model
cyber attacks against a company’s network and their defence in terms of
game-theoretic interactions, where we run simulations about how the
attacker and defender can learn. The project simulates the dynamics of
cyber conflicts, allowing for the analysis of security vulnerabilities
to build more robust, proactive defences.”
It is the fourth year students at UCC’s school of computer science and
information technology have contested this award.
Entries were judged by Dan Murphy and Declan Fox, who work for the
sponsors, the computer industry group AxisBic.
Mr Fox said: “We are delighted to once again sponsor the UCC computer
science entrepreneurship award in 2024. Being involved in this award
goes to the heart of what AxisBic is about. Identifying innovative
entrepreneurs, providing support and essential business expertise to
ensure they grow and succeed. The competition was very strong and we
look forward to seeing more entrepreneurs emerge from UCC’s computer
science students.”