from ALFRED SHILONGO in Windhoek, Namibia
Namibia Bureau
WINDHOEK, (CAJ News) – A NEW partnership has been reached to tackle the cyber security skills shortage in Namibia.
Check Point Software Technologies, a leading provider of cyber security solutions globally, has partnered with the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), Complete Enterprise Solutions (CES) and Salt Essential IT for the initiative.
The partnership between Check Point Secure Academy and NUST will enable the university’s faculty members complete the Check Point Certified Security Administrator training.
It will enable them to teach a range of cyber security courses to NUST’s students, starting this year.
To date, three of the university’s lecturers have completed the training, with more staff signed up to take the course.
“Through this partnership, we are strengthening Africa’s cyber security landscape, as our lecturers will be passing the crucial cyber skills they have learned onto the next generation of professionals,” said Dr Mercy Chitauro, Cyber Security Programme Coordinator at NUST.
CES and Salt, working through NUST’s Cooperative Education Unit, will help facilitate industry-relevant internship placement and secure workplace sites enabling Work Integrated Learning for students who have graduated from the partnership’s training programme.
“Achieving Check Point Secure Academy status within Namibia is an important step forward in developing a new talent pool of qualified security professionals and a sustainable breeding ground for this talent pool in the country,” said PJ Kotze, General Manager of CES.
Sonja Coetzer, Managing Director at Salt added, “Education initiatives like this are helping build stronger, more secure environments for businesses to compete in a sustainable digital economy, which is so important in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”
This partnership will deepen the reach of cyber security education already being provided by the Check Point Cyber Security Jump Start programme.
Through this programme, learners can access free online courses from anywhere in the world, gaining recognised certification upon completion.
Currently, over 20 000 students and security professionals across Africa have completed these courses, increasing Africa’s overall cyber safety through industry leading skills.
“This new partnership further demonstrates our ongoing commitment to make cyber security education accessible to all,” said Pankaj Bhula, Regional Director for Africa at Check Point Software Technologies.
In Namibia alone, Check Point Research noted that an organisation experienced an average of 1 382 attacks each week last year.
Globally, this figure is 930, meaning Namibian businesses are dealing with nearly 49 percent more cyber threats.
– CAJ News