The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced a new partnership Monday with Cyversity, a nonprofit that works to create a diverse and inclusive workforce in the cybersecurity field.
New York City-based Cyversity’s mission is to form a cybersecurity workforce that is representative of women and minorities. It does this through scholarship opportunities, workforce development, education and mentoring programs. Having a diverse group of cybersecurity professionals improves organizations’ abilities to battle security threats because it provides the companies with more varied thinking and perspectives, according to the company.
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Through the new collaboration, the organizations will form a mentorship and training cybersecurity program available to Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies (of which there are 34 companies) and Cyversity members. Participants will be able to access Cyversity’s mentorship program, which includes resume writing workshops and mock interviews. They’ll also be able to have private sessions with BCBSA’s cybersecurity professionals, said Chris Lugo, vice president and chief information security officer at BCBSA.
“With this collaboration, we aim to promote diversity within the cybersecurity industry through scholarship funding and equipping the next generation of cyber leaders with the tools needed to solve the most complex cybersecurity challenges existing today,” Lugo said in an email.
The program will teach participants about governance risk and compliance. They’ll also have the option to further dive into three cybersecurity areas: application security (meaning the developing and adding of security features in applications), network security (meaning the protection of network infrastructure) and cloud security (meaning protecting cloud-based data from cyber attacks).
BCBSA and Cyversity are offering the program at no cost to those who want to participate.
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The companies chose to collaborate with one another due to a shared goal in promoting diversity in the cybersecurity space, according to the news release. Lugo added that it selected Cyversity as a partner because it has demonstrated to be beneficial in helping underrepresented individuals in the field.
“Having a diverse and inclusive cyber workforce is essential to solving the most complex cybersecurity challenges existing today,” Lugo stated. “Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies are collaborating with Cyversity because they are a proven leader in readying minority students and professionals to thrive in this industry.”
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