Fortinet Announces Free Security Awareness
Fortinet,
the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and
security, today announced the availability of a new Security
Awareness curriculum to all K-12 school districts and systems
in the United States at no cost to help build the cybersecurity workforce of
the future and to keep students cyber safe. The announcement further supports
the White House’s National Cyber Workforce and Education Strategy (NCWES)
and is part of the company’s commitment to helping address the significant
cyber talent shortage. Today, Fortinet is also participating with the
White House and other government leaders, including Kemba Walden the Acting
National Cyber Director from the White House Office of the National Cyber
Director, in the Cybersecurity Summit 2023 hosted at UNLV to discuss the NCWES implementation and solutions to help address the
global skill gap, including such initiatives.
As part of the
Fortinet Training Institute’s Security
Awareness and Training service, the new curriculum was
developed in partnership with educators and was made specifically for students
ranging from kindergarten to high school students. This curriculum can help
over 55 million K-12 students nationwide and will start rolling out in the Fall
2023. The initiative expands Fortinet’s free learning offerings, including the
tailored cybersecurity awareness training for K-12 faculty and staff announced last
year tied to the White House 2022 National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit.
John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer and EVP, Product Strategy at
Fortinet, said, "Expanding the cybersecurity knowledge and skill sets of our global
community, including people of all ages, backgrounds, and life experiences, is
essential to help close the cybersecurity talent shortage. Fortinet’s
cybersecurity training experts partnered with educators to develop and make
accessible a tailor-made Security Awareness curriculum to help prepare students
to apply cybersecurity skills at school, at home, and everywhere they need it.
Our goal is that this and all of Fortinet’s free training initiatives will
create a future generation of empowered security professionals.”
Cyber criminals increasingly use advanced
threat methods, such as phishing and malware, that target end-users to obtain
personal and sensitive data and/or infiltrate into organizations’ networks. At
the same time, over 3.4 million professionals are estimated to
be needed globally to fill the cyber skills gap, further putting organizations
at risk.
Cyber awareness is
critical to prevent cybercrimes, and more people with cyber expertise are
needed to fill essential security positions. Fortinet’s new security awareness
curriculum looks to fill these needs by instilling fundamental cybersecurity
skill sets from an early age and beyond.
Through the Security
Awareness curriculum, Fortinet will provide K-12 teachers with
resources, including a comprehensive teacher’s guide with lesson plans,
handouts, and more, to help foster an engaging and meaningful interaction with
cybersecurity fundamentals in the classroom while supporting existing academic
standards. The curriculum was developed by former educators and reviewed by
current teachers to also incorporate core competencies, including creativity,
critical thinking, computational thinking, communication, and collaboration.
School districts and
systems across the U.S. can take advantage of the curriculum to educate K-12
students on various topics that strengthen cybersecurity awareness and digital
safety best practices, including:
· Cybersecurity landscape – Students will
learn how to mitigate cyberattack risks by recognizing cyber threats and cyber
criminals’ tactics.
· Digital safety – Students will
be taught to recognize online risks and know how to respond to difficult
situations, helping to foster safe and respectful online interactions.
· Online presence – Students will
be educated on making mindful choices about what content is shared online to
maintain a positive and safe online presence.
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