Jack Walsh, Senior Penetration Tester and Assistant Manager at KPMG, recently joined students on the UCL School of Management’s Digital Strategy & Transformation module again this year at UCL’s Bloomsbury campus to share his experience and expertise of how to protect organisations against cyber threats and attacks.
The Digital Strategy & Transformation module, led by Dr Rikke Duus, explores how organisations across industry sectors can adapt, evolve and transform to respond to ever-changing market dynamics, customer demands, technology innovation, and economic conditions.
In his role as a Senior Penetration Tester and Assistant Manager at KPMG, Jack Walsh shared his expertise on cybersecurity with a specific focus on the critical role of penetration testing in safeguarding organisations against cyber attacks. Penetration testing, often referred to as ethical hacking, involves simulating cyber attacks to identify vulnerabilities in an organisation’s systems, networks, and applications.
This is an important area for students to gain insight into in the context of learning about digital transformation. It was particularly exciting for students to hear about the real-world actions taken by cyber security teams to support organisations once a cyber attack has taken place. Students also learnt about the preventative practices put in place to strengthen digital and physical perimeters and, indeed, what we should look out for not to become victims of cyber criminals.
Jack Walsh, Senior Penetration Tester and Assistant Manager at KPMG, said: “I had a fantastic time delivering my lecture on Cyber Security to students at UCL. It was great to be back in a university setting and talk to some fantastic students. Much of my work at KPMG focuses on helping clients strengthen their security as they undergo digital transformations, so it was a pleasure to share real-world insights and experiences with the students. Despite it being the end of a busy term, the students were highly engaged and asked some really thoughtful questions — a testament to their curiosity and potential. Thank you again UCL for hosting me!”
Discussing the day, Frank Dong, first-year BSc Information Management for Business student said: “I found the guest lecture by Jack Walsh, a KPMG cybersecurity expert, incredibly engaging and insightful. What stood out to me was the detailed breakdown of real-world cyber-attack methods, such as SQL injections, phishing, and ransomware, which made the session highly practical and relevant. The speaker mentioned some recent high-profile incidents, including the NHS and British Library attacks, giving the talk a strong sense of immediacy and highlighting how these threats impact major organisations.”
Gabriel Perri, affiliate student from North Carolina State University, stated, “Mr. Walsh’s lecture was highly engaging and insightful. I was particularly impressed by the various techniques threat actors use to evade detection, including disguising their nationality. Even as a Computer Science student, I rarely get the opportunity to consider hacking from the attacker’s perspective, making Walsh’s talk both eye-opening and thought-provoking. I truly appreciated the experience. I also thank him for the book recommendation!”
The UCL School of Management would like to thank Jack for his time and his incredible insights.
