Ryan Corey noticed a disturbing trend when he worked for a company that trained people in advanced tech skills: Most people couldn’t afford it unless they had an employer sponsor them. (Training ranges from a few hundred dollars to $5k for certain tech certifications.) And those who did have the money were out of luck if it turned out they didn’t want to become a cybersecurity engineer. Ryan launched Cybrary in Greenbelt earlier this year to offer free online advanced IT and cybersecurity training to people at any skill level. (The company is raising $200k through a Kickstarter campaign to expand classes and services.)
Ryan says cybersecurity training is expensive because it usually takes months to create a class and virtual environments to simulate cyber attacks. Plus the industry is so fleeting; what’s relevant today won’t be in a year. Yet the industry, along with cyber attacks, are growing so rapidly that the US has 210,000 open cybersecurity jobs. Ryan says he’s recruited some big stars like cybersecurity expert Georgia Weidman to create classes, and the company already has 40,000 users. Revenue will come from corporations and universities that will pay for more robust programs and students who want to buy certificates of completion for about $5.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)