(ISC)²® Foundation and Booz Allen Hamilton Increase Opportunities for Veterans to Help Strengthen National Cybersecurity
Clearwater, FL (PRWEB) May 01, 2014 -- The (ISC)2® (“ISC-squared”) Foundation, the non-profit charitable trust for (ISC)² that aims to empower students, teachers, and the general public to secure their online lives with community cyber security education and awareness, today announced the launch of the first of three application periods for the 2014-2015 U.S.A. Cyber Warrior Scholarship program developed in collaboration with Booz Allen Hamilton. Instead of one application period, applicants now have three opportunities to apply. The program was created in response to the findings of (ISC)²’s sixth bi-annual Global Information Security Workforce Study(“GISWS”), which revealed a significant widening of the gap between demand for and supply of cyber security workers.
The U.S.A. Cyber Warrior Scholarship program seeks to help close this gap by providing cyber security career training to qualified veterans who served in the United States military. It is designed to help ease their transition into the civilian workforce by underwriting all the expenses associated with the pursuit of certification – to include training, textbooks, mobile study materials, certification testing, and the first year of certification maintenance fees.
“Booz Allen is proud to support a program that connects highly qualified veterans with the training they need to help them transition to successful cyber and information security careers,” said Booz Allen’s senior associate, Anthony Harris. “One third of Booz Allen Hamilton’s employees have served in the U.S. military, and we value these employees’ work ethic and strong core values. We are glad to be a part of the U.S.A. Cyber Warrior Scholarship program.”
The scholarship program focuses on four (ISC)2 certifications that will help returning veterans demonstrate that they possess today’s in-demand information security skills identified in the 2013 GISWS: the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®), Certified Secure Software Lifecycle Professional (CSSLP®), Certified Authorization Professional (CAP®), Certified Cyber Forensics Professional (CCFPsm), Healthcare Information Security and Privacy Practitioner (HCISPPsm) and Systems Security Certified Practitioner (SSCP®). The committee will award up to twelve scholarships over the three award periods to veterans, with the first round of recipients announced on October 1, 2014 –– the first day of National Cyber Security Awareness Month at the 2014 (ISC)2 Security Congress event in Atlanta, Ga., colocated with ASIS 2014.
"Military veterans and information security professionals share an inherent desire to protect people,” says Julie Peeler, director of the (ISC)² Foundation. “Through this program with Booz Allen Hamilton, we aim to merge these shared traits into an opportunity to enhance national cybersecurity by providing returning military veterans the means to protect their country within a profession desperate to fill open positions. Due to the overwhelming number of scholarship applications we received after the inaugural launch of the program in 2013, we have created more opportunities for veterans to apply, therefore increasing applicants’ chances for selection.”
The first of three application periods for the 2014-2015 program is open through Friday, August 1, 2014. To qualify for a scholarship, candidates must have an information technology or security background and must have been an active duty member and honorably discharged from one of the five branches of the United States Military with an end service date between May 1, 2009 and May 1, 2014. Members of the National Guard or Reserve are not eligible to receive this scholarship. To complete an application or for more information, please visit https://www.isc2cares.org/USA-Cyber-Warrior-Scholarship/default.aspx.
About (ISC)2® and the (ISC)2 Foundation
The (ISC)2 Foundation is a non-profit charitable trust that aims to empower students, teachers, and the general public to secure their online life by supporting cyber security education and awareness in the community through its programs and the efforts of its members. Through the (ISC)2 Foundation, (ISC)2’s global membership of nearly 100,000 information and software security professionals seek to ensure that children everywhere have a positive, productive, and safe experience online, to spur the development of the next generation of cyber security professionals, and to illuminate major issues facing the industry now and in the future. For more information, please visit http://www.isc2cares.org.
Formed in 1989 and celebrating its 25th anniversary, (ISC)² is the largest not-for-profit membership body of certified information and software security professionals worldwide, with nearly 100,000 members in more than 135 countries. (ISC)²’s certifications are among the first information technology credentials to meet the stringent requirements of ISO/IEC Standard 17024, a global benchmark for assessing and certifying personnel. (ISC)² also offers education programs and services based on its CBK®, a compendium of information and software security topics. More information is available at http://www.isc2.org.
About Booz Allen Hamilton
Booz Allen Hamilton is a leading provider of management consulting, technology, and engineering services to the US government in defense, intelligence, and civil markets, and to major corporations, institutions, and not-for-profit organizations. Booz Allen is headquartered in McLean, Virginia, employs approximately 23,000 people, and had revenue of $5.76 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2013. In 2014, Booz Allen celebrates its 100th anniversary year. To learn more, visit http://www.boozallen.com.
Courtney Beveridge, Extension Group, +1 703-618-8205, [email protected]
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