Pressemitteilungen

Fortinet Teams Up with The Hong Kong Polytechnic University to Launch Cybersecurity Training Academy

The first Fortinet Network Security Academy (FNSA) partnership in Asia will develop skilled talents to meet local and global demand for network security professionals

HONG KONG – January 24, 2017 – Fortinet, the global leader in high-performance cyber security solutions, today announced its partnership with Department of Electronic and Information Engineering (EIE), The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) − the first one in Asia − to jointly offer cybersecurity training under the Fortinet Network Security Academy (FNSA) scheme.

The FNSA is designed to develop and train knowledgeable cybersecurity experts to manage new and advanced threats on the horizon. Besides PolyU and Australia’s TAFE SA in the region, the scheme is available internationally at selected organizations in the U.S., Latin America, Canada, Europe and Africa. PolyU offers the FNSA scheme as a supplementary co-curricular training to its students.

“Hong Kong’s strategic position as a regional financial services hub, combined with the growth in digital banking and fintech services in the region, make the impact of successful cyberattacks very high. It is critical to develop a strong network of cybersecurity professionals to safeguard vital networks and sensitive data,” said Cherry Fung, Fortinet’s Country Manager for Hong Kong, Macau and Mongolia.  “Current estimates show up to 1 million cybersecurity job openings globally with demand expected to rise to 6 million by 2019. We are partnering with organizations around the world in an innovative way to fill the pipeline of cybersecurity experts needed to manage and thwart increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks.”

The Academy will provide Fortinet’s industry-recognized Network Security Expert (NSE) training and certification opportunities to participants through theoretical lectures and hands-on laboratory practice. Participating students are equipped with additional knowledge for a successful career in network security.

“Demand in PolyU’s Information Security degree programme has been growing since its introduction two years ago. PolyU’s partnership with Fortinet to launch the FNSA scheme would help to broaden the knowledge of our students,” said Dr Haibo Hu, Deputy Programme Leader, BSc (Hons) in Information Security degree programme. “The FNSA training would be an added advantage for our graduates who are already well-sought after in the cybersecurity sector, both locally and globally.”

PolyU is a university with a proud and illustrious history. Formerly known as the Hong Kong Polytechnic, the Institution assumed full university status in 1994. The University prides itself on its professional education and innovative research as well as close ties with business and industry. It is the largest publicly-funded tertiary institution in Hong Kong in terms of number of students, with around 30,000 full-time and part-time students, and a vast pool of more than 380,000 graduates.

Fortinet Network Security Academy Designed to Shape Future of Cybersecurity Workforce

Multiple studies demonstrate the cybersecurity labour shortage and the dire need for additional experts.

British insurance company Lloyd’s estimated that cyberattacks cost businesses as much as $400 billion a year. The key verticals under attack include healthcare, financial services, education and technology companies with the top threats including malware, botnets and application exploits. 

FNSA was created to address the international shortage of cybersecurity experts and to build a workforce skilled in all aspects of Fortinet’s Security Fabric from endpoints to the cloud, who will be recognized in the industry among an elite group of security professionals. The Academy brings the training and certification opportunities previously only offered to Fortinet customers and partners to educational institutions, non-profit organizations and veterans programs. Training is free of charge for these organizations, arming the professors with the skills needed to teach the scheme to students who will learn how to protect global organizations from cyber threats.

Fortinet sponsors the training content and examinations for each Academy site, along with supporting instructor preparation. Academy sites offering the training and certification courses provide the lab environment (virtual or hardware) and instructors to deliver the scheme content.

Click HERE to apply to become a Fortinet Network Security Academy. For more information about the Fortinet Network Security Academy, email academy@fortinet.com.