The employability of college students is a critical factor in how colleges are judged, and colleges strive to offer courses that match the requirements of the job market and arm their students with the skills that employers want. In this context, a report from Gartner that discusses human resources in cybersecurity provides interesting insight on the future of the cybersecurity job market: the report states that, by 2025, stress will cause nearly half of cybersecurity leaders to change jobs with 25% opting for different roles; and lack of talent or human failure will be responsible for over half of significant cyber incidents.
An analysis of the report’s findings reveals that a) recruiting cybersecurity talent can help prevent many cyberattacks, and b) cybersecurity practitioners will be able to access many opportunities to progress in their career as leaders choose to seek fresh challenges. Other studies, that project a shortfall in skilled cybersecurity candidates of 1.5 million in India and 3.5 million across the world by 2025, further indicate that students with job-ready cybersecurity skills will be highly employable and enjoy rewarding careers. Colleges that can develop such skills in students will, consequently, attract ambitious and highly capable students.
How Colleges Can Develop Cybersecurity Talent
Colleges cannot make students highly employable through a theoretical course on cybersecurity, as that is not what employers require. Job-ready attributes that will make students employable include
- Hands-on experience with the latest cybersecurity technologies and tools
- Exposure to real-world cyberattacks
- Extensive malware research capabilities
- Experience in a malware research lab
- Industry-recognised certification
Colleges and universities that wish to develop students into well-qualified cybersecurity talent will need to provide the facilities (research labs) and knowledge (academic courses) required to satisfy the requirements listed above. These requirements are highly research-centric and industry-oriented, and colleges will need to partner with cybersecurity companies that have comprehensive malware research expertise, access to malware samples, and expert knowledge on safe handling of malware, to offer compelling cybersecurity courses.
K7 Academy’s College Partnership
K7 Academy’s K7 Malware Analysis Training Programme enables colleges to partner with K7 to provide world-class cybersecurity training to their students. K7 will provide knowledge support, infrastructure guidance, and malware samples to partner colleges for courses on topics that are critical to enterprise cybersecurity:
- Windows Basics & Dynamic Analysis
- Basic Static Analysis
- Advanced Static Analysis – Reverse Engineering
- Android Malware Analysis
- Advanced Android Analysis
All courses have been designed and developed based on K7’s 30+ years’ expertise in the cybersecurity industry which includes winning multiple international awards and operating K7 Labs, one of the world’s leading cyberthreat research centres that has been the first discoverer of several malware.
How the Partnership Works
Partnering with K7 will enable the college to establish a malware lab within their campus and gain cybersecurity training for faculty, allowing the institution to build significant academic assets in malware research that will help them appeal to students seeking careers in cybersecurity. Programme highlights include
- Modules delivered by instructors authorised by K7 Academy
- End-of-module assessments by authorised K7 Academy staff
- Certificate of competence from K7 Academy
Components of the Programme
Lab Approval and Setup
K7 Academy provides technical specifications for the required hardware, software, and infrastructure, and guidance to help the college establish the lab. K7 Academy will also
- Inspect and approve the lab
- Provide the tools required by the training modules
- Provide malware samples
- Monitor the lab setup
Train the Trainer
K7 Academy will train college faculty under a Train-the-Trainer programme. Faculty designated by the college will learn course content, perform practical assignments, and pass assessments similar to the students who will enrol for the cybersecurity courses. K7 Academy will
- Provide faculty training for each module
- Certify faculty to deliver training to students
- Monitor student assessment to maintain programme standards
Guest Lectures
Faculty and students will receive lectures from personnel authorised by K7 Academy on advancements in cybersecurity and the evolution of the threat landscape.
Student Contribution to K7 Products
Students who acquire the required qualifications can gain industry experience by contributing to K7’s threat analysis and detection data creation, assisting in the protection of millions of computing users around the world.
Opportunities for Colleges
The K7 Malware Analysis Training Programme provides opportunities for colleges to
- Improve institutional ranking and accreditation
- Offer curriculum that attracts students seeking high-growth careers
- Cultivate industry-relevant skills in students
- Upgrade faculty skills
Opportunities for Students
Students who complete the K7 Malware Analysis Training Programme will be able to access opportunities in
- Anti-malware companies
- Enterprises with in-house security teams
- Incident Response solution vendors
- Government-led cybersecurity initiatives
Students will be able to attract the attention of potential employers as they will possess
- Hands-on experience in malware analysis conducted in a research lab
- Expert research skills honed by the instant feedback they receive on their malware research
- Familiarity with the tools and technologies that are used by the industry
K7 Academy provides cybersecurity training to Indian and international students, and in colleges and the enterprise sector. Contact Us for more information on how we can help your institution offer industry-aligned academic programmes, with an emphasis on malware research, that enable your students to access lucrative opportunities in the fast-growing cybersecurity industry.