Inspiring the Cybersecurity heroes of tomorrow

Practice Labs, the IT competency hub, has launched a special bundle of hands-on cybersecurity Practice Labs to help organizations grow their own cyber talent, allow students to explore cybersecurity as a potential career option, and raise cybersecurity awareness among all enterprise employees.

Booth 119, NICE Conference, Phoenix, Arizona, 18 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 Practice Labs to help inspire the cyber heroes of the future.

According to the 2019 ISC Cybersecurity Workforce Study, 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 organizations 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, the IT competency hub.

“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 organizations 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 organizations. 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 Practice Labs Cybersecurity Bundle is available now. Follow this link to claim the special introductory price.

The Practice Labs cybersecurity bundle includes:

Red Team Blue Team Fundamentals: an entry-level Practice Lab to give users an understanding of the various ways malicious agents might attempt to exploit IT systems and how to prevent this from happening. Also useful to prepare for Capture the Flag (CTF) events using cyber ranges.

Ethical Hacker: An advanced live Practice Lab designed to improve practical skills in footprinting and reconnaissance, scanning networks, device enumeration, social engineering and system hacking concepts.

CompTIA Security+: For intermediate-level users, this live Practice Lab provides the opportunity to gain the hands-on skills required as a baseline for a career in IT security.

CompTIA PenTest: Penetration testing is an intermediate/advanced-level live Practice Lab, which simulates a cyber attack attempting to exploit vulnerabilities in a network.

CompTIA Cybersecurity CySA+: This intermediate Practice Lab helps users prepare for the CySA+ IT workforce certification by providing an environment where the application of behavioral analytics to networks and devices can be utilized to prevent, detect and combat cybersecurity threats.

COMING SOON ...

Cyber Defense Analyst: This intermediate Practice Lab helps users prepare for the CySA+ IT workforce certification by providing an environment where the application of behavioral analytics to networks and devices can be utilized to prevent, detect and combat cybersecurity threats.