Johannesburg, 09 May 2018
Research by the South African Banking Risk Information Centre (SABRIC) revealed that not only is South Africa losing over R1 billion each year to cyber crime, but the scourge has also increased by nearly 30% since 2013.
At a time, when the world faces an impending global information security skills meltdown, South African organisations are increasingly falling prey to continual cyber attacks. In fact, another research, the Global Economic Crime Survey 2016, conducted by PWC, revealed nearly a third (32%) of South African organisations have experienced cyber crime, and that the number is growing rapidly."
In cognisance of this development, there have been many positive steps taken by the South African government, like setting up a national CSIRT, cyber criminal legislation and propagating good cyber security practices. The overall negative impact is yet to be subsided. Factors like spreading cyber awareness and providing quality cyber security training appear to be major factors that we, as a collective cyber society, can benefit from.
Partnering EC-Council, the world's largest body in cyber security training and certifications in its war against cyber crime in South Africa, is NEWORDER, a leading South African information security provider specialising in hacking and industrial espionage protection.
NEWORDER has been recognised as an information security industry leader by TIME Magazine (December 2017, Person of the Year Edition) and by Voices of Leaders (South Africa, a Pioneer in Technology and Innovation, December 2017 e-Book Edition.
According to a 2017 member survey by 451 Alliance, a worldwide network of IT executives and experienced technology professionals, 67% of respondents say they are facing a skills shortage, and for very large companies with over 10 000 employees, that number jumps to 78%. To address the security skills gap, slightly more than half of the respondents plan to train existing staff, and 44% will hire contractors. However, they rate information security as a difficult area to hire for, with 44% rating difficulty at 8/10 (10 being high difficulty).
By offering a range of information security related training opportunities to IT professionals in South Africa as well as Africa, the academy hopes to not only address the current worldwide skills dilemma, but also boost SA as a lucrative and sought-after skills outsourcing destination. With this partnership, NEWORDER Training Academy has secured the ideal platform from which to impart these skills.
With a population of 55.9 million people as of June 2016, the country is experiencing a boom in Internet access, with online users projected to reach 22.5 million by the end of 2017, according to the Internet Access in South Africa 2017 study by World Wide Worx. Every user of the Internet is connected to some organisation; every user of the Internet is susceptible to cyber crime, thereby endangering their respective organisation at large. To be able to combat this ever-growing threat of cyber security, it is inevitable to educate every cyber citizen about the skills to combat cyber threats and keeping themselves cyber safe.
To cater to the varying needs of prospective learners, NEWORDER offers flexible options to propagate cyber security skills, namely iLearn and iWeek formats of imparting training. With iLearn, candidates can study the certification of their choice in an online self-paced video format, thereby resorting to no challenges in managing their time or travel. iWeek is EC-Council's live online training format, under the guidance of a certified master trainer, for the users who wish to have a trainer guide them through, without having to leave the comfort of their homes.
More than 18 000 consumers across 18 countries were surveyed on issues of online crime as part of the Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report. The study said compared to their global counterparts, South Africans had heightened sensitivity to online information breaches, as 76% believed identity theft was more likely than ever before. With such growing awareness of cyber security threats, there is no better time than now to study the skills required to thwart a potential cyber attack looming over your country, organisation or personal life.
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