OPSWAT launches OPSWAT Academy, a new CIP cybersecurity training and certification program

OPSWAT, a leader in critical infrastructure protection, announced a new critical infrastructure protection (CIP) cybersecurity training and certification program, OPSWAT Academy.

Designed for cybersecurity professionals and CIP stakeholders, OPSWAT Academy will provide beginner, intermediate and advanced education strategically designed to reflect the real-world responsibilities and technical proficiencies required of modern-day critical infrastructure security professionals and stakeholders.

Through courses that promote best practices and practical approaches to CIP cybersecurity, OPSWAT Academy will help properly prime what is largely an understaffed and underprepared workforce for mission critical jobs that are ready today.

To date, more than 200 OPSWAT customers, partners, and cybersecurity professionals and stakeholders who were given early access have become OPSWAT Academy certified.

“Unlike other certification programs that focus too much on concepts and theories, OPSWAT Academy takes a practical, hands-on approach to CIP cybersecurity workforce training,” said Benny Czarny, CEO of OPSWAT.

“Our efforts center on developing the skills that actually help participants excel at applying their training to starting or developing a career in critical infrastructure protection cybersecurity.”

Since 2015, the cybersecurity industry has seen a 50% increase in unfilled jobs and by 2021, that number is estimated to reach upwards of 3.5 million.

By prioritizing technical skill development over more traditional curriculum, the OPSWAT Academy is pioneering a new approach to training the next generation of CIP cybersecurity professionals for jobs that are ready and waiting, today.

CIP cybersecurity training with a zero-trust mentality

OPSWAT Academy will help participants excel at applying the technologies, processes and procedures required to start and sustain a career in CIP cybersecurity.

The curriculum closely follows The Purdue Enterprise Reference Architecture, or the Purdue Model, which establishes best practices on data security between ICS networks, enterprise networks, the internet and now the expanded perimeter of the cloud.

As such, OPSWAT Academy becomes the first critical infrastructure cybersecurity training program to offer certification focused on Deep Content Disarm and Reconstruction Technology (CDR).

Initially, OPSWAT Academy will focus on making OPSWAT customers and partners successful with philosophical and product-centric training, which will be closely followed closely by curriculum designed for the entire industrial cybersecurity ecosystem.

By focusing on practical workforce training and development, the OPSWAT Academy is designed for students to immediately translate what they learn in the virtual classroom into practice within a critical infrastructure security environment.

“OPSWAT’s philosophy is trust no file, trust no device,” said Dan Lanir, vice president of customer success at OPSWAT.

“This philosophy, as well as customer feedback, is the foundation of the Academy’s curriculum, which was developed to underscore the strict data transfer and device access procedures between the different security zones established in the Purdue Model.

“It’s based on the technologies and processes that we strongly believe are necessary for implementing an effective zero-trust solution within any critical infrastructure.”

OPSWAT Academy will have one master certification – OPSWAT Critical Infrastructure Protection Associate (OCIPA) – that consists of four specific certifications based on discipline. The certifications will consist of video lessons plus practice training exercises on pre-selected courses and then a final exam to test knowledge learned throughout the program.

Specifically, OPSWAT Academy will teach:

• CIP cybersecurity technologies that protect files during data transfer including Deep Content Disarm and Reconstruction (Deep CDR), File Based Vulnerability Assessment, Multiscanning and more.
• CIP cybersecurity technologies that ensure devices accessing the CIP networks meet security compliance standards, such as Endpoint Compliance, Endpoint Malware Detection, Endpoint Vulnerability Assessment, Cloud Based Access Security and more.
• The nuances of protecting interoperability between ICS and external networks.
• The need for a zero-trust mentality.

from Help Net Security https://ift.tt/2nF7luy

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