Leading African Cybersecurity Firm Will Train Up To 1000 South African Certified Ethical Hackers
TAMPA, Fla, November 29, 2022— EC-Council, the world’s leading cybersecurity certification provider and inventor of the Certified Ethical Hacker, today announced a partnership with Cyberintelligent Systems (Pty) Ltd, South Africa’s leading cybersecurity services, and training firm, to upskill cybersecurity professionals in South Africa. The two will collaborate on a program called “1000 Pentesters,” in which they will train up to 1000 South African penetration testers to serve the needs of South Africa and other nations to close the cyber skills gap. Penetration testers are cybersecurity professionals trained to test for weaknesses in systems and play a critical role in ensuring the security of digital infrastructure used in businesses, government agencies, infrastructure, and other organizations.
According to a May 2020 Accenture study, South Africa has recorded the third most cybercrime victims globally. Historically low investment in cybersecurity infrastructure has made the nation an easy target for cybercrimes. The rise of cyberattacks has afflicted South Africa dramatically and caused the nation to become a playground for cybercriminals to further their malicious objectives inside and outside the country.
“South Africa needs to actively increase the number of skilled cybersecurity professionals working to protect organizations and businesses,” said Jay Bavisi, President and CEO of EC-Council. “Training and certifying capable cyber personnel are critical. Cyberintelligent Systems impressed us with their vision and ambition. We are excited to embark on this bold plan to certify 1000 penetration testers in South Africa while collaborating with them.”
The alliance will enable the rapid training of hundreds of skilled, certified cybersecurity professionals and provide the means for South African workers to achieve their Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH), Certified Penetration Testing Professional (C|PENT), and other key industry certifications. Certifications are critical to cybersecurity work, representing the standard to assess professional readiness for many key cyber roles.
“Creating a pool of certified cybersecurity professionals is critical not just to solving South Africa’s cyber jobs gap but also to helping other countries,” said George-Paul de Lange, founder and CEO of Cyberintelligent Systems (Pty) Ltd. “We’ve suffered in this country because of this lack of skilled professionals. Through this ambitious plan to train 1000 Certified Ethical Hackers and Pen Testers, we can help not only reduce cybercrime in South Africa and serve as a pool of resources for other countries, many of whom also suffer from a critical gap in their cybersecurity workforce.”
According to some studies, as many as 50% of cyber jobs are unfilled in the United States. The US government has called out the problem, which seeks to close the cyber skills gap quickly. The collaboration between EC-Council and Cyberintelligent Systems (Pty) Ltd will benefit South Africans seeking to better their professional position, businesses and organizations, and the victims of cybercrime in South Africa and elsewhere.
About EC-Council:
EC-Council’s mission is to help organizations, educators, governments, and individuals address global workforce problems by developing and curating world-class cybersecurity education programs and certifications while providing cybersecurity services to some of the largest businesses around the world. EC-Council is trusted by seven of the Fortune 10, 47 of the Fortune 100, the Department of Defense, global intelligence communities, NATO, and more than 2,000 of the best universities, colleges, and training companies. EC-Council programs have made their way to more than 140 countries and have set the bar in cybersecurity education. To learn more, visit https://www.eccouncil.org/.
About Cyberintelligent Systems
Cyberintelligent Systems (Pty) Ltd is a specialist cybersecurity company established in 2016 by George-Paul de Lange to address the gap in proactive cybersecurity solutions in South Africa. Its objective is to assist customers in forging elite cyber resilience through automation, collaboration, and expert technical skills.
