Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency(CISA) of United States has announced that it will offer $2 million as funding to develop Cybersecurity Workforce Training Programs.
Currently, NPower and CyberWarrior have received the funding to train unemployed and underemployed in cyberspace that not only helps create awareness on how the cyber world has developed these days, but will also help fill the void of talent scarcity in security in a time frame of just 28 weeks.
The funding award was announced at the Cybersecurity Summit that was operating the theme of “Team Awesome: The Cyber Workforce” and will encourage more such companies that help build the workforce for future.
To those who are unaware of the CISA’s initiative, here’s a gist. The federal agency helps in training under served communities in urban and rural areas and helps to create awareness among them against the prevailing cyber challenges facing the nation, companies and individuals.
Note 1- CISA was established by former US President Donald Trump in November 2018 with an aim of improving cybersecurity posture of public and private entities. It helps in defending the digital assets against private and state funded actors to a certain extent. However, the agency was criticized for failing to avoid or detect the Russian cyber attack on Solar Winds software and Microsoft Exchange Servers in December 2020 and February 2021, respectively.
Note 2- In November 2020, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate in partnership with CISA awarded $2M to Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute(CIRI), DHS Center of Excellence (COE) backed by the University of Illinois. The fund was awarded to help both the organizations to educate and train dynamic and diverse workforce in Cybersecurity.
