CybersecurityKaplan launches cybersecurity education company
Education provider Kaplan announced Wednesday that it has created a 12-person spin-off, split from a separate sister company called Cybervista, to offer Web-based cybersecurity courses. The creation of this new cybersecurity unit is an indication that the private sector is aware of, and trying to benefit from, the shortage of qualified security employees.
Education provider Kaplan announced Wednesday that it has created a 12-person spin-off, split from a separate sister company called Cybervista, to offer Web-based cybersecurity courses.
The Washington Post reports that the new company will operate under Kaplan’s parent company, Graham Holdings – but that the separation allows the group freedom from Kaplan’s management structure, making it possible for it to explore new lines of business.
The separation from Kaplan “doesn’t really change anything other than of course to allow us to have a pure and primary focus on the mission: solving the cyber workforce problem,” CyberVista chief executive Amjed Saffarini told the Post.
Analysts note that the creation of this new cybersecurity unit is an indication that the private sector is aware of, and trying to benefit from, the shortage of qualified security employees. A 2015 report by Burning Glass, for example, found that for Washington, D.C. alone, there were 28,744 open cybersecurity-related job postings in 2014.
Kaplan already offers online preparation courses for the Certified Ethical Hacker exam. CyberVista also worked on Kaplan’s own cybersecurity degree programs.
“Kaplan is an education-driven organization structured around a specific modality; test prep and higher education,” Saffarini said. “As we expand to solve the workforce problem, [CyberVista] might expand beyond education proper.”
Graham Holdings owns several different companies, but Kaplan is easily its biggest company. The Post notes that the fact that Graham Holdings refers to CyberVista as a “sister company” to Kaplan — which earned $2.16 billion in 2014 — signals the high hopes the company has for the new venture.
