A collaboration between the Bahrain Economic Development Board and Kaspersky Lab is bringing cybersecurity-related course-material sourced from the global cybersecurity expert to faculty and students of the University of Bahrain and Bahrain Polytechnic. With this, the authorities aim to raise the level of cyber-readiness and prepare a mechanism to ensure skilled and qualified talent available for the needs of the Kingdom.
The course material, compiled by Kaspersky Lab from their global experience, is enhanced with real-world scenarios that cybersecurity specialist professionals may face on a regular basis. The non-branded content ensures that students gain an understanding of the technology and the process rather than learn about company-specific solutions. The Bahrain Economic Development Board and Kaspersky Lab will also seek to include this course material in additional relevant curricula in the Kingdom, with a view to broadening the available skill base in the coming years.
In the first phase, Kaspersky Lab is rolling-out immersive training sessions for teachers and trainers to elevate their expertise, and two of these have already been delivered in 2018. These ‘Train-the-Trainer’ sessions include advanced insights and deep-dives into subjects such as Security Monitoring & Cyber-Threat Hunting; Malware Reverse Engineering, and; Incident Response & Digital Forensics. Each subject requires four training days to complete, and Kaspersky Lab is rolling out this training to around 25 selected trainers.
John Kilmartin, Executive Director of ICT at the Bahrain EDB, said: “A core element of the national security plan is cybersecurity preparedness and response capabilities, and this initiative directly strengthens our pipeline of future generations of qualified talent who will drive the cybersecurity of the Kingdom. We strongly believe that there is greater value in empowering professionals with real-world information rather than theoretical knowledge, and Kaspersky Lab’s contribution of specialist content will boost the level of awareness and preparedness for the benefit of the nation.”
Amir Kanaan, Managing Director – META, Kaspersky Lab, said, “Our research has found that 73 percent of organizations worldwide cite a shortage of IT security professionals, and Frost & Sullivan says that demand could outstrip supply by 2020. At Kaspersky Lab, we believe that it is up to the industry to step up and address this, together with academia. Countries in the GCC region are particularly prone to cyber-threats, and more organizations are being impacted on a regular basis. This illustrates the need for strong awareness and a stronger talent pipeline in at-risk nations. At Kaspersky Lab, we have successfully delivered similar initiatives in countries such as The Netherlands and Spain, and we are very happy to provide our content and inputs to teachers and students in the Kingdom of Bahrain.”