With sophisticated hackers targeting everyone from Sony and Target to the Pentagon and State Department, the demand for skilled workers in cybersecurity has skyrocketed in recent years.
To meet the growing demand for skilled cybersecurity professionals in the U.S, Latin America and the Caribbean, FIU’s College of Business has collaborated with the Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs and the Jack D. Gordon Institute for Public Policy to create an executive certificate program in cybersecurity leadership and strategy.
Chief executive officers, chief financial officers, chief information security officers, and information security professionals from countries including Barbados, Brazil, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, Uruguay, and the U.S. have registered for the two-day course, scheduled for October 11 and 12.
FIU’s cybersecurity executive certificate program will offer two tracks – private and public sector – targeting professionals in law, government, healthcare and other industries, as well as leaders and policymakers in national security, looking to defend their networks and secure their data against attack. The course will be offered in English and simultaneously translated into Spanish.
The Organization of American States, which has been actively helping to build cybersecurity capacity throughout Latin America and the Caribbean for more than 10 years, is helping develop content for FIU’s program.
“In this time of growing global concern surrounding cybercrime, it is essential that we strengthen our resilience to the cyber threats of tomorrow,’’ said Brian Fonseca, director of the Gordon Institute, an expert in national security who is overseeing the development of the course.
FIU’s response to the demand for skilled cybersecurity workers is part of a larger national trend targeting cybercrime.
The White House has issued a call for greater investment in cybersecurity programs, including $19 billion in 2017, an increase of more than 35 percent from 2016. The National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education predicts more than 1.5 million new cybersecurity professionals will be needed to accommodate an expected shortfall by 2020.
“For businesses, the magnitude of cybersecurity threats has never been greater,” said Monica Chiarini Tremblay, associate professor and chair of the Information Systems and Business Analytics department at the College of Business and co-author of a MOOC focusing on cybersecurity for businesses. “Training in cybersecurity will enable professionals to take on roles of increasing importance in a profession where demand for trained workers is at an all-time high.”
In addition to interactive discussions about strategies, best practices and legal issues, FIU’s course will provide hands-on simulation exercises of potential threats and group projects. Keynote speakers from technology leaders in private industry and government, including OAS, Verizon, Microsoft, National Defense University, United Data Technologies, Abacode Technologies, and FIU professors will lead the cybersecurity executive certificate.
Upon completion of the program, participants will earn an Executive Certificate in Cybersecurity Leadership and Strategy from Florida International University.
To apply or for more information about Florida International University’s cybersecurity executive certificate program call 786-417-2973
