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Enhancing cybersecurity learning of Filipinos

Posted By

The Manila Times

On

May 21, 2022

DURING the pandemic, cyberattacks on industries providing connectivity, essential services and entertainment increased by 341 percent, adversely impacting populations forced to shelter-in-place.

Nexusgard, a leading cloud-based cybersecurity solutions provider, says this emphasizes the need to increase vigilance against cybercrimes, starting with enhancing the learning capacity of Filipinos on cybersecurity.

"The pandemic forced a complete shift in how the world lived and worked, and cyber criminals took full advantage of the situation using stealthier, smaller but more complex attacks. Communications Service Providers (CSP) and enterprises will need deep learning, multidimensional DDoS detection and other advanced techniques to prevent outages," said Juniman Kasman, chief technology officer for Nexusguard.

As part of its innovative campaign, Nexusguard Academy launched the Cybersecurity Specialist Program in the Philippines in partnership with various well-known universities, colleges and companies. The program features a methodical defense-in-depth approach in learning skills to help students understand cybersecurity controls, enable fast incident response and secure web applications.

"Nexusguard Academy was established to offer cybersecurity courses that enable CSPs to become cybersecurity managed providers," said Ruben Mondejar, program director. "It also assists individuals to be trained by cybersecurity practitioners who have years of experience at the front lines."

From its initial mission of helping CSPs, Nexusguard expanded its foremost initiative to include individuals affected by the pandemic, helping them to be immersed in cybersecurity for a potential career shift. The cybersecurity solutions provider leverages its practitioners to be mentors in this highly industry-relevant and workplace-centric learning system.

"The passion for bringing cybersecurity learning does not stop there," Mondejar said. "We have also extended our reach from Metro Manila to the provinces like our certification program in partnership with Siena College of Taytay. It's the first in the Calabarzon Region (Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal and Quezon)."

This partnership has now expanded to Batangas province with the setting up of a Center of Excellence in the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda)-accredited Equinox Training Center in Sta. Teresita, Batangas. It kickstarts a mission to bring world-class cybersecurity education to other universities in Batangas in the coming months.

Launched in Singapore in 2021, the Nexusguard's Cybersecurity Specialist Program aims to train individuals to restart their careers. The program includes industry and practitioner mentoring, a portfolio with real-life companies, learner support to gain additional soft skills, and employment assistance. The training course will run for six months.