FOREVER ONE STEP AHEAD: FORGE INSTITUTE GRADUATES NEXT GENERATION OF CYBER WARRIORS

Positions in information security and cybersecurity are of the highest value among companies and organizations of nearly any size. As our processes become more digitized, dark web adversaries have become more brazen, which has increased demand for a workforce fortified with specialized technical skills – skills that cannot be acquired from online, at-your-pace certification programs.

“Too often, the goal of an online cyber course is to get to the button that spits out the certificate,” explained Tony Loukota, training manager and lead cyber instructor at Forge Institute in Little Rock. “But that’s not the participant’s goal. The participant wants to become a systems administrator or a cyber analyst or even a chief information security officer. Our approach is, how do we help our participants reach that end goal?”

Forge Institute Cyber Bootcamps are rigorous and fast-paced. (“It’s a lot of information in a very short amount of time,” said Loukota.) The training is led by hands-on experts who have helped shape how cyber is defended today. But it’s reaching the participant’s end goal that makes the bootcamp experience the most relevant.

“Real-time, hands-on-keys training enables instructors to detect the strengths and interests of our participants,” said Loukota. “While the bootcamp may be about, say, cyber fundamentals, we can in many ways tailor courses to individual skill sets on the fly.”

Morgan Gober-Casey, a former law enforcement officer, is a recent graduate of the Cyber Fundamentals Bootcamp. She experienced the benefit that live instructors have on her ability to grow her skill sets. “One of the challenges I faced during bootcamp was the mental pressure of believing that I wasn’t really cut out for this. I was really nervous! But on the first day of class, the instructors helped me realize that I was meant to be here, and that they would help me in whatever way they could to achieve my goals.”

According to Loukota, this approach isn’t just beneficial for bootcamp participants. “The biggest challenge for company leaders looking to harden their cybersecurity team is identifying highly skilled candidates with special qualifications. Companies would much rather hire somebody who has received one-on-one training from instructors and subject matter experts well versed in the tactics being deployed against them right now. Employers have a great deal of faith in graduates from Forge Institute Bootcamps.”

The training manual for cyber and infosec is in constant update. Curriculum that was cutting-edge last year may be dust-bin material today. Dark web adversaries refine old tactics and develop new ones every day. Forge Institute instructors are active members of the cyber defense space with insight into what is happening now, forever staying one step ahead of adversaries. Passing down the latest intel to bootcamp participants ultimately builds the strongest defense a business, city, state or nation can have against cyber adversaries: community.

“Cybersecurity is only as strong as its weakest link,” said Loukota. “It sounds like a cliche, but we really are strongest when we’re together. You can’t achieve that strength inside a silo. The back-and-forth interaction in our bootcamps serves as a kind microcosm for the entire cyber community. We exchange intel. We partner to improve tactics. We build each other up. Essentially, it’s not one person standing up to a cyber adversary. It’s all of us.”

Gober-Casey confirmed that the personal interaction made her a better participant. “Forge gives its participants a lot of tools to succeed – from the coaching sessions to the check-ins they do to ask you individually how they can best help you. You can just tell how much the staff care for the participants.”

Loukota said that his interest in his participants’ success is based on understanding that he will one day see them making a significant impact in the cyber community. “They’re bootcampers today, but tomorrow they’re analysts, auditors, network or system administrators and engineers. They’ll be on the front lines of this fight, and how they use the skills they learned here will be pivotal to our nation’s security.”

“Everyone at Forge wants to see you succeed,” said Gober-Casey. “If IT or cyber is something you are even slightly interested in, this is a great way to see what you like and have a certificate that gives you some validity as well.”

Forge Institute graduates its latest 14-week bootcamp on Friday, June 16. Participants of the bootcamp, which was filled to capacity, are now 100 percent employed with organizations across Arkansas. Based on demand, Forge Institute will next offer a series of open-source intelligence analysis courses and its first ever AI Bootcamp for Prompt Engineering, created in response to the booming interest in artificial intelligence.

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