New and innovative cyber training pilot program, funded by DEO, will launch in January

TAMPA – The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) and not-for-profit National Cyber Partnership today announced “Cyber Foundations,” a pilot program to prepare Tampa-area veterans and others for high-skill, high-wage jobs in the cyber industry with focus on cybersecurity. This new program is made possible by $750,000 in start-up funding from the State of Florida through DEO.

“DEO is pleased to partner with the National Cyber Partnership and Saint Leo University on Cyber Foundations.  This program will provide Tampa area veterans with the skills needed to obtain high-wage jobs in the growing information and cybersecurity industries,” said Jesse Panuccio, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.

What distinguishes the Cyber Foundations pilot from other academic-based cybersecurity courses is the addition of the human factor—the behavior and actions of the people using computers and computer systems. The IBM Security Services 2014 Cyber Security Intelligence Index notes that these factors were involved in more than 95% of the cybersecurity incidents in the world in 2013.
 

“It’s not only the cybersecurity of systems and networks, but it’s the risk awareness and management of the human factor that needs to be considered,” says Michael F. Shapiro, Executive Director of the National Cyber Partnership. “It’s far too often that people help the ‘bad guys’ by unwittingly opening back doors to compromise or attack,” Shapiro adds.

“Saint Leo University recently signed a Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) with the National Cyber Institute,” said Dr. Babir Bal, Associate Dean of the Donald R. Tapia School of Business at Saint Leo University. “The MOU creates a collaborative relationship between the two parties to offer a pilot program that will promote an education program for veterans in the area of cybersecurity. As part of this pilot program, Saint Leo University will offer its existing undergraduate and graduate certificate programs in information security,” stated Dr. Bal.

The unique online training program builds upon the highly regarded undergraduate and graduate Cybersecurity Certificate Programs already in place at Saint Leo University, ranked as one of the leading providers of higher education to the military.

Today’s cyberspace is an information environment unimagined when the first interconnected computer networks launched in the late 1960s. This mixture of physical computers and processors that generate, control, and store data and the “virtual” data and transaction flow has become so complex to almost defy definition. And increasingly, the concept of cyberspace has come to include the people behind the computers, and how human behavior can provide numerous openings for exploitation.

Attackers can take advantage of simple human error or people’s tendency to trust, such as opening email attachments or giving out sensitive information including passwords over the phone. Cyber Foundations not only encompasses these factors but also will continuously modify and update coursework to reflect the increasingly sophisticated and growing threats in cyberspace.

Cyber Foundations curriculum also incorporates input from businesses and various government agencies ensuring a real world context that is reinforced by field experience. Students will get the opportunity for hands on exposure through mentorships with a number of Tampa Bay businesses and organizations.

Before students receive a Cyber Foundations certificate of completion, they will take an industry certification exam from (ISC)², CompTIA or a similar leading certifying body.

“Cyber Foundations is a workforce development program designed to fuel the economic development of a dynamically growing cyber industry in Tampa Bay and the State of Florida, with Florida serving as a model for the rest of the nation,” says Rick Michaels, Chairman and CEO, National Cyber Partnership. “What’s more, helping veterans who often have security clearances but difficulty finding good jobs embark on great careers where qualified cyber personnel are in short supply is a win-win.”

CYBER FOUNDATIONS is a new model for cybersecurity education created by the not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) public-private National Cyber Partnership and is sponsored by the National Cyber Partnership and the State of Florida, Department of Economic Opportunity. For more info: www.national-cyber.org.
 

About DEO

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity combines the state’s economic, workforce, and community development efforts.  This new approach helps expedite economic development projects to fuel job creation in competitive communities.  For more information, including valuable resources for employers and job seekers, please visit www.floridajobs.org.

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