News
Fortinet Makes its Security Awareness and Training Service Available for Free to Schools Across the U.K.
March 2023 by Marc Jacob
John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet
“Following the success and demand we saw in the U.S. after making a customised version of Fortinet’s Security Awareness and Training Service available for free to educators, we are excited to be expanding the offering to education staff across the United Kingdom. With schools being frequently targeted by cyberattackers, it is imperative that the frontline of defence, which includes teachers and school staff, have a fundamental understanding of cyber threats allowing them to better safeguard the data of schools, staff, and students.”
News Summary
Fortinet®, the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced that its Security Awareness and Training service offering is now available for free to educators in the U.K. to help combat attacks on the region’s educational institutions. This is expanding an initiative launched in the U.S. during the 2022 White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit, where Fortinet participated in important discussions around solutions to help address the significant talent shortage affecting the cybersecurity industry.
In the latest Fortinet 2023 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Global Research Report 84% of organisations surveyed experienced one or more breaches in the past 12 months, up from 80% in 2021. And a high number of leaders attribute those breaches, at least in part, to a lack of cybersecurity skills among IT professionals.
As the first line of defence, it is critical that all employees are equipped with the right training to help protect their organisations from the constantly evolving threat landscape. Schools that take advantage of the free offering will be providing their education staff with the skills and knowledge that could prevent them from falling victim to common threats, such as social engineering attempts used by cyber criminals to access sensitive information of students, parent, school, staff and more. The Fortinet Training Institute has customised training content for educational institutions and as a result, this initiative will help to develop the necessary cyber-aware culture needed to help prevent these institutions from encountering successful cyberattacks. The service will be available to more than 1 million education staff in nearly 30000 schools across the UK starting this spring.
Fortinet’s Commitment and Collaborations to Address the Skills Shortage
As part of the company’s mission to train 1 million people in cybersecurity by 2026, Fortinet is actively committed to expand cybersecurity awareness to as many as possible to make a significant difference in addressing the skills gap. To help advance this pledge, Fortinet also works with academia through its Fortinet Academic Partner Programme to help develop a skilled cybersecurity workforce of the future. With nearly 500 academic partners in more than 90 countries and territories, this programme allows them to integrate Fortinet’s award-winning NSE training and certification courses into their curriculum for students.
Fortinet is also forging partnerships across private and public sectors to help drive a skilled, inclusive, and diverse cybersecurity workforce, including a focus on women, minorities and veterans. Fortinet is a founding member of the Cyber Threat Alliance, a partner of the National Cybersecurity Excellence Partnership (NCEP) programme and founding partner of the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for Cybersecurity, with an active contribution to WEF’s Partnership Against Cybercrime (PAC). Fortinet continuously collaborates with world leaders from various sectors, like NATO and Interpol, and critical partners such as KISA, OASIS and MITRE. In this way, Fortinet is helping shape the future of cybersecurity and build new opportunities in the digital economy.
