UpSkill America is an employer-led movement to expand opportunity for America’s workers and allow our economy and communities to thrive. As part of our mission to advance the upskilling movement, we are pleased to share the following news featuring one of our partners.
This piece originally appeared on the AT&T Innovation Blog.
Cybersecurity is paramount. Each new threat creates new, unforeseen risks. Identity theft, corporate breaches or other scams jeopardize private information. Cybersecurity as a career path requires continuous learning. You must stay ahead of the curve to prevent attacks, even those that are unknown. The need for security professionals is growing rapidly. Yet recent research shows none of the top 10 U.S. computer science programs require their students to take a single cybersecurity-related course. That has to change.
At AT&T, we’re committed to cybersecurity education. We’re transforming our technology to meet the changing environment. As we evolve, we’re making efforts to help our workforce evolve with us. We launched our Workforce Skills Pivot Program in 2014 to offer employees the training and experience they need to be competitive. Security education is a core component of this effort. In fact, we recently highlighted one of these employees pivoting into this area.
Our workforce must become more proficient in software development and security. We incorporated courses emphasizing security architecture principles, secure coding practices, code scanning, API security and more. These “nanodegrees” take about 4-9 months to complete. The aggressive and comprehensive curriculum teaches valuable skills employees can apply in real situations immediately.
The need for bright, educated minds in information security continues to grow. The number of major cyber-attacks and the implications of these attacks underscore the need for educated professionals. Fostering the next generation of cybersecurity professionals and leaders must be a priority for business and academia.
This piece was excerpted from “Cybersecurity 101: Educating Computer Scientists in Security” by Rita Marty, Executive Director, Cloud & Mobility Security, at AT&T. Click here to read more.
We are delighted with AT&T’s decision and commend them for joining a growing list of companies committed to advancing the upskilling movement.
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