Check Point Software Technologies has partnered with Africa-based NGO Cybersafe Foundation to equip women with cyber security skills and help open up new access career development opportunities.
Through the partnership, courses from Check Point’s education program, SecureAcademy, will be integrated into the Cybersafe CyberGirls Fellowship program. This one-year, complimentary initiative is specifically designed to impart cybers ecurity skills to women aged 18 to 28.
CyberGirls aims to close the gender gap across Africa’s cyber security industry, develop cyber security skills within underserved communities and expose job seekers to career opportunities. It does this by offering training, mentorship leading to certification readiness, as well as internships and shadow placements.
NGO’s affiliates will benefit from free training, the education of Cybersafe instructors, and access to industry-recognised certifications..
Check Point is working with over 160 academic partners who serve over 45 000 students across more than 60 countries, in an effort to address the global shortage of 3.5 million cybersecurity job vacancies.
Confidence Staveley, founder and executive director of Cybersafe Foundation, says the partnership with Check Point will contribute to the organisation’s disruptive educational model by providing free quality cyber security training to the CyberGirls community.
Pankaj Bhula, regional director, Africa at Check Point, says rducation is fundamental to combatting the rising tide of cybercrime globally. “Partnerships such as this one are key in closing the skills gap and helping to create a future employee pipeline in the cyber security sector.”
Growing malware threat
In September this year Check Point released details of its Threat Intelligence Report South Africa: Government and Military, according to which an organisation in South Africa is being attacked on average 1701 times per week in the last six months, significantly higher than the global statistic of 1179 attacks per organisation.
Check Point also assesses countries’ threat indexes, quantifying the risk and vulnerability to cyber threats based on specific events.
According to the South African Threat Intelligence Report, the country’s threat index is at 42.2%, ranking 45th globally.
