Exclusive Networks has announced it is joining forces with security leaders in calling on the industry to take global action in a bid to end the recruitment crisis in cybersecurity, which is currently faced with an estimated shortfall of 2.7 million professionals.
The Paris-headquartered global cybersecurity specialist is one of the founding partners supporting an initiative launched today by investment and advisory firm NightDragon and Next Gen Cyber Talent, a non-profit cyber education provider, to raise $1 million to fund cybersecurity courses for students in the US from diverse and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Exclusive will be lending its experience and expertise to the campaign having recently established a partnership with California Polytechnic State University, opening an office on campus and currently sponsoring 12 students, 9 of which are already progressing through their security certification training assignments, delivered by Exclusive and its partners. All are expected to go on to full-time roles in the industry after completing their education.
On the international front, Exclusive has partnered with Guardia in Europe to launch the first private cybersecurity academy in France where it will help in the development of course content as well as providing mentoring and internship opportunities for students. Exclusive has also recently become and advisory member of the Cyber Security Coalition in Belgium, a partnership between academia, public authorities and the private sector to share specialist expertise, knowledge and information in the fight against cybercrime.
Jesper Trolle, CEO of Exclusive Networks, said: “This initiative is a template for action and we’re delighted to be a part of it. It aligns strongly with our efforts to develop the cyber defenders of tomorrow, equipped with the specialist skills, knowledge and expertise to combat the exponential growth in cyber threats.
“We are actively involved in a number of like-minded initiatives internationally and this is another great example of a programme that is taking direct action in solving the cyber skills problem. It’s time for the industry to put its money where its mouth is if we want to plug the cyber skills gap any time soon. We also need to look for answers beyond the traditional talent pool and attract more diverse, underserved and underrepresented candidates and I applaud this initiative for taking this approach.”
Businesses spend $1 trillion a year on IT security, but the threat posed by ransomware, phishing, malware, denial-of-service and other attacks continues to grow. Yet it is estimated that damages from cyber-attacks in 2021 were $6 trillion. It is clear more needs to be done to stem this cyber tsunami.
