Media group targets IT security training

The former parent of the Washington Post, Graham Holdings, is making a transition into commercial IT security training.

The media company makes the move as lawmakers in the U.S. have proposed that businesses should publicly disclose whether or not they currently have an IT security professional on their board, with businesses and governments being confronted with an ever-increasing cyber attack threat.

CyberVista’s launch at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, illustrates a growth in IT security education that goes above and beyond training executives and technical professionals.

The firm will assist students in being ready for security certification, as well as making ongoing education available for security professionals.

Analysts are predicting expansion in the IT security education market, which features degree programmes, certification classes and boot camps provided by profit-making firms such as SANS Technology Institute and Apollo Education Group, as well as nonprofit groups including the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium.

SANS Technology Institute President Alan Paller noted that teaching business leaders and enhancing knowledge in the workplace is not a complete solution. He said:

“It’s not what to teach people; it’s finding the big talent to begin with. Consulting services are essentially telling the boards that they need more study and more analysis and more reporting.”

Business executives who underestimate the importance of cyber security jobs are putting their firm at risk. With cyber threats being on the rise, a cyber expert is essential, and ideally businesses need more than one employee with the necessary knowledge to deal with a cyber attack.