Cybersecurity conference held in Austin discusses workforce need
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Hundreds of cybersecurity experts arrived in Austin this week to attend the MSSP Alert Live conference. It focuses on understanding security breaches and how to prevent them.
"Over 500 people here, all in the MSSP and MSP space, which is the Managed Security Service Providers and Managed Security Providers," CyberRisk Alliance Executive Vice President John DelMauro said.
DelMauro said they held the first two conferences in Washington, D.C. This year, they decided to move it to the Lone Star State.
A workforce shortage
Among those in attendance was San Antonio-based cyber security workforce development company NukuDo.
"When you see folks like Tesla, like Amazon, all these employers that are in our corridor making significant investments, they're going to need that cybersecurity talent that is prepared to come and work for them on day one," NukuDo Managing Director Michael Blair said.
The company teaches people the skills to get certifications to land a cybersecurity job. Students are paid while they train. Blair said they are open to applicants from a variety of industries.
"Seventy percent of people who are going to enter into our program, they're doing something else. They're mid-career, right? They might be teachers," Blair said. "They could be bankers."
Blair said they are looking for highly logical, analytical, lifelong learners with soft skills.
"They're going to do 90% on a day-to-day basis real-world scenarios that they would be doing in the actual security operations center themselves," Blair said.
Just a few months ago, the White House said the nation desperately needs more cyber talent.
When it comes to increasing the cybersecurity workforce nationwide, the White House said it is identifying federal investments to "provide more Americans with opportunities to access quality hands-on learning and training programs such as Cyber Clinics and earn-and-learn Registered Apprenticeships programs."