It’s no secret there’s a major cybersecurity skills shortage affecting organizations all over the world, no matter their size, industry, or team structure. 

You may feel it too when looking to implement anything from secure app development practices to more complex projects, such as building incident response capabilities. Business owners like you know the current forced push towards remote work requires an even stronger security approach, but their hands are tied because they can’t find specialists to hire or work with.  

So what do you do when you have a limited budget, can’t find specialists, but still need to implement essential security controls? 

As always, we’re here to provide practical solutions that match your needs. 

Closing the practice gap

There’s no shortage of online resources for anyone ranging from information security enthusiasts to developers and even experienced infosec specialists. But there’s still a gap that needs to be closed: the practice gap. 

No matter how good online tutorials are, each organization has a specific environment with particular problems, process, and interdependencies. Although some security techniques apply across business sectors, many depend on the organization’s structure and development stage. 

To help developers, growing cybersecurity practitioners, and anyone else who wants to learn, polish, and apply their infosec skills, we developed a free cybersecurity arena!

We used our skills, experience, and know-how to support new generations of cybersecurity-minded specialists practice what they preach – and do it effectively. This is a natural continuation of our mission to contribute to the community, helping educate, support, and guide those who can shape a more secure future for all of us.  

Introducing: CyberEDU – the free-for-all cybersecurity gym

Your development team and other technical specialists in your company may be interested to know they can pick up and develop cybersecurity skills for free on CyberEDU.ro.

This arena is a special environment created to equip the next generation of infosec specialists – no matter their age or background – with the practical experience they need. It helps them bridge the gap between theory and practice, enabling them to experiment, try different approaches, and then confidently apply their learnings in your organization. 

CyberEDU also speaks to your team’s need to work on challenging, engaging tasks that improve their critical thinking and give them a sense of achievement. It also gives them a chance to have fun throughout the process, which helps offset some of the pressure that’s an inherent part of their job. 

The platform features over 100 exercises developed for and used in international ethical hacking competitions. These practical exercises cover the 3 main tracks a cybersecurity enthusiast or specialist can follow in their professional development:

• The Offensive Track that involves using ethical  hacking techniques to mimic cyber attacks and deepen knowledge of pentesting tactics as well as network, wireless, and mobile device security
• The Defensive Track whose reactive approach to security centers around developing the analytical skills to prevent, detect, and respond to cyber attacks, including digital forensics and incident response practices
• The General Track that involves a mix of both offensive and defensive tactics.

All the challenges on CyberEDU are based on real life scenarios. Experienced cybersecurity experts developed them so platform users can learn to spot vulnerabilities and effectively react to the diverse situations they face in their roles.

Logging valuable practice hours 

With no hidden fees and challenges for every level, CyberEDU serves the practice needs of a large group of security-minded people. Whether your team members are beginners or professionals, they can log valuable practice hours and track their progress in an easy to use dashboard. 

Do note the platform is still in beta, so some features might still have some bugs or not work properly. Since this is a platform for the community, the team behind the project relies on users’ feedback and support to fix and constantly improve the platform so it can evolve to meet their developing needs. 

Keen to share the good news with your team? 

Share the link to the CyberEDU website and follow the news on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook!

And don’t forget they can also join the DefCamp and the European Cybersecurity Challenge communities, which are also CyberEDU partners and active supporters.