The Australian Centre for Cyber Security (ACCS) at UNSW Canberra and (ISC), the global not-for-profit membership body of certified information and software security professionals with nearly 110,000 members worldwide, today announced an agreement to forge a strategic alliance focusing on capacity building in Australia and throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Through the agreement, (ISC) will provide UNSW students and professionals in Canberra with educational courseware to help them gain the knowledge, skills and industry certifications needed to enter the cybersecurity workforce. UNSW Canberra will provide subject matter experts to assist with the delivery of (ISC) training courses throughout the region.
The (ISC) Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Cyber Forensics Professional (CCFP) and Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP) CBK, a compendium of information and software security topics, will be incorporated into the existing cybersecurity program curriculum of UNSW Canberra. Official (ISC) certification training courses will now be offered there as well. ACCS will provide technical advice to (ISC) on further expanding cybersecurity education and thought leadership throughout Asia-Pacific.
“As global leaders in delivering information security education, ACCS at UNSW Canberra and (ISC)² are ideally positioned for this type of alliance,” said Prof. Jill Slay AM, director of ACCS at UNSW Canberra. “We believe that with this strategic alliance, we will together build a cohort of cybersecurity workers to serve as thought leaders in legal, policy and technical domains.”
UNSW Canberra is a campus of UNSW Australia, a leading global university (in the top 50 of 2015 QS rankings), that has provided high-quality undergraduate education to the Australian Defence Force at Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) and postgraduate education to the broader community for half a century. ACCS is an interdisciplinary cybersecurity research and teaching center at UNSW Canberra, which builds on the close relationship with stakeholders in Australia and internationally – industry, government, legislators, civil society and professional bodies.
“We are honored to enter into this strategic alliance with UNSW, a premier education institute for the military and tertiary students with a notable, cross-disciplinary approach to cybersecurity research,” said Clayton Jones, managing director, Asia-Pacific, (ISC). “Building a global workforce requires a strategic, collaborative approach to education. By teaming up with UNSW Canberra, (ISC) will be in a stronger position to educate information security professionals in Australia and ultimately, throughout Asia-Pacific.”