Cybersecurity giant Cylance, best known for its threat detection and prevention-based AI-software solutions, has added a new 12-week education course to its menu of offerings. Developed out of real-world security problem solving and trench warfare from leading industry veterans, the course has evolved into a product by Cylance's chief security and trust officer, Malcolm Harkins.

While the goal of the program is to give students the ability to think and act like a cybersecurity leader, the genesis and culmination of content come from a rich tradition of intelligence sharing between peers in the cybersecurity community.

Steve Mancini, deputy chief information security officer at Cylance and self-proclaimed test-subject number one of the leadership program, spent over 15 years at Intel where he was exposed to “the most amazing malware in the world” as well as the most amazing peer network in the world. “What's different about this program is the diversity among the people giving the video presentations,” says Mancini.

Educational modules are delivered by cybercelebs like Harkins himself as well as ClearSky Security's Jay Leek and others. General Colin Powell ranks among the marquee public-sector professors participating in the program.  The entire program is delivered online. The style of weekly content centers around prerecorded videos focused on storytelling rather than lectures.

“People tend to learn better when there is a story attached,” adds Mancini. “The curriculum is straight-forward, but the classes are more experiential knowledge transfer, learning from people who have been there and learning from each other.”

Discussions with classmates are a big part of the experience. The organic conversations that follow the watching of modules aim to allow students to share the security challenges they are facing. The programs intends to foster the kind of environment where students can let down their guard and share what gaps they may need help filling in their skill set or company. “A lot of this course is what you make of it. There are no forced interactions, but the more you engage in connecting about topics with peers offline, the better,” encourages Mancini.

While Mancini is a staunch advocate of Cylance technology, the course is tool-agnostic. “This course is not about using Cylance tools,” clarifies Mancini. The 12-week program in broken into the following chapters: The Security Leadership Mindset, The Art of Security Intelligence, The Balance Between Security and Innovation, Security Change Management, Positive Leadership in Security, Collaboration and Negotiation, Security Communication, Relationship Management, Security and the Network of Things, Your Changing Role in Security, and Simulated Cyber Attack, finishing with The Power of One, where students will learn to communicate how their value as a cybersecurity leader directly impacts the long-term success of the enterprise and beyond.

When asked what kind of participant this program is for, Mancini is quick to say, “I don't want to use the phrase 'emerging CISOs.' I want to focus on emerging security leadership instead.” As companies increasingly require security savvy more broadly across leadership in various business units throughout their human capital landscape, this course hopes to fill some gaps in security know-how from a variety of core perspectives. The course explores addressing burning business (nontechnical) questions many security novices have, like how to take risks for the right reasons, how to make data-driven decisions, how to interact with third-party vendors and how to build basic security awareness on your team.

Mancini adds, “If you are a CISO and you are thinking about succession planning, this is a good place to send your staff to help frame how employee behavior changes moving from an individual contributor role to an executive leader.”

The course is designed to give confidence to students about having executive-level conversations and balancing competing agendas within their workload and/or the enterprise. “'I want to challenge the status quo, but how do I do that in a way that maintains company trust and personal integrity?' is a question this course will help answer,” comments Mancini.

Cylance is offering customers and partners reduced tuition to the academy. The retail value of the course is around $2,000.

Malcolm Harkins has gone on record as saying, “Leaders can distinguish motion from progress. The security industry has been stuck in motion for decades without much forward progress. This program focuses on leadership skills so we can develop the future leaders who know the difference and can hold the industry – and themselves – accountable for real progress while tackling the cyberrisk issues we face as a society.”

Mancini echoes Harkin's perspective. “This program germinates from building a new paradigm around approaching security,” says Mancini. “Security was about being a janitor, not a guardian at the gate, and we are shifting that mindset at Cylance with our products and now this program.”

More information on this program can be found by visiting Cylance's website.

 

Jared Coseglia is the founder and CEO of TRU Staffing Partners, an Inc 5000 Fastest Growing American Company 2016 & 2017 and National Law Journal's #1 Legal Staffing Agency. Jared has over 15 years of experience representing thousands of professionals in e-discovery, cybersecurity and privacy throughout the world.