Booth 119, NICE Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 19 November 2019: At the 2019 NICE Conference in Arizona, and hot on the heels of National Cybersecurity Careers Week, Practice Labs has released a special bundle of cybersecurity live-labs to help organisations grow their own cyber talent, allow students to explore cybersecurity as a potential career option, and raise cybersecurity awareness among all employees.
According to the 2019 ISC Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the cybersecurity workforce gap is approaching 500,000 and needs to grow by 62% in order to meet the demands of US businesses alone. The international shortage is even bleaker, a massive 145% increase, with over 4,000,000 additional cybersecurity professionals required to address the global skills gap.
The ISACA State of Cybersecurity 2019 Report revealed that 69% of cyber pros say their teams are understaffed. This is concerning, given that 60% of information security professionals believe it is either likely or very likely that their organisations will experience a cyberattack this year.
“The pool of available cybersecurity professionals is shrinking and recruitment and retention is a major issue for many businesses”, says Ricky Doyle, co-founder of Practice Labs.
“Supplementing recruitment with a ‘grow your own’ policy is an option worth considering,” he continues. “Many of the characteristics required of a cybersecurity pro can also be evident outside IT departments in other areas of the business.
“By creating this bundle of Practice Labs we hope to help organisations locate those hidden cyber heroes, and provide them with the means to explore whether they might be suited to a cybersecurity role”.
Cybersecurity skills gaps are not the only challenge facing organisations. All employees need to be more cyber aware. The ISACA report lists the top three threat actors as cybercriminals (32%), hackers (23%) and non-malicious insiders (15%).
“This ‘threat from within’ can be mitigated by increasing awareness and making staff aware of how malicious agents gain access to business-critical systems and networks”, Ricky suggests. “We hope our entry-level Practice Labs will help to improve understanding about cyber threats across the enterprise.”
The following titles are included in the bundle:
Red Team Blue Team Fundamentals; CompTIA Security+; CompTIA PenTest; CompTIA Cybersecurity CySA+; Ethical Hacker (plus Cyber Defense Analyst, which will be added when released).
The Practice Labs Cybersecurity Bundle is available from November 19. Follow this link to claim the special introductory price or visit Booth 119 during the NICE Conference.
About Practice Labs
Practice Labs supports digital skill development, certification, work readiness and career progression. Using the latest technology and software, hosted virtually in the Practice Labs Private Cloud, users can:
• Practice IT within a safe, live-lab environment.
• Prove IT and digital skills to assessors and employers.
• Do IT to experiment, build confidence and gain mastery.
