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Global security firm Fortinet has announced that it will be offering its Security Awareness and Training service: Education Edition to every teacher in Australia.
And it will cost them nothing.
Fortinet has committed to training up the cyber security skills of 1 million people by 2026 in an effort to bring more people into the industry and “close the skills gap in Australia and across the globe”.
Fortinet’s own research has shown that 8 per cent of breaches are caused by a lack of cyber skills, and educational institutions are often particularly stretched when it comes to cyber resilience and knowledge.
Clare O’Neil, Minister for Cyber Security, is pleased with Fortinet’s investment in education and cyber security in Australia.
“I welcome Fortinet’s initiative to provide free security awareness and training to Australian primary and secondary school educators,” Minister O’Neil said in a statement.
“As part of the Albanese’s government commitment to make Australia the most cyber secure country in the world by 2030, we see the value in working in partnership with companies such as Fortinet to help improve cyber skills at every level.
“This significant and important initiative will support teachers and staff across all Australian schools.”
Nicole Quinn, head of APAC government affairs at Fortinet, is proud to be lending a hand after the Education Edition of Fortinet’s service was launched in the US in 2022.
“Building on our successful rollout in the United States, we are thrilled to bring a local, customised version to teachers and school administrators to help raise cyber awareness through training in all Australian primary and secondary schools,” Quinn said.
“Fortinet is looking forward to working with both the public and private education sectors to help schools train their staff and faculty with skill sets and knowledge that could prevent them from falling victim to popular threat methods, such as social engineering attempts, and reduce the likelihood of a cyber breach.”
You can learn more about the program here.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.