SHYLD Academy

Many of the most likely and impactful threats to our nation, our businesses, our families, and ourselves come from the increasing quantity and quality of hackers in the world. Statistically, it is likely that you, and nearly everybody you care about, have been hacked whether they know it or not. In 2017, 53% of businesses experienced a cyber attack and 47% of Americans had their personal information exposed. In the Equifax attack alone, hackers accessed the personal data (full names, social security numbers, birth dates, addresses) of about 145.5 million consumers. In the 21st century, hackers are winning the war in cyberspace. They’re taking people’s identities, money, passwords, and secrets. Hackers can come from and be anybody - from nation states, to skilled individuals, to friends, colleagues, and even your own children. This global cybersecurity crisis not only threatens the security and the privacy of people around the world but also presents a huge financial burden on the economy. Currently, cyber crimes cost the global economy $600 billion annually, with an expected 10x rise by 2021. At cybersecurity conferences, the vast majority of speakers and experts say there’s plenty of hardware and software in the industry to help solve these problems. However, they’ll nearly unanimously say there are not enough people with the skills necessary to keep us safe. The Purpose of SHYLD: To make a material impact on the collective cyber safety for all. We'll do this by: 1. Increasing the attractiveness of working in cybersecurity 2. Train SHYLD Agents on Practical cyber-defense skills 3. Leverage the talents of SHYLD Agents to increase collective cyber safety 4. Provide Mentor/Mentee Opportunities to scale one-on-one training SHYLD's Mission is to eliminate the cybersecurity talent gap and increase the collective safety for all.