A Brampton-based cybersecurity training hub has received a $3.5-million contribution from Google.org, the search giant’s philanthropic arm, to help Canadian organizations develop a cybersecurity game plan while giving budding cybersecurity experts real-world training.

“Cyber clinics give learners the opportunity to tackle current cybersecurity challenges under expert supervision, while providing smaller organizations with support they may not otherwise be able to afford.”

On Wednesday morning, the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst revealed the funding, which will help launch the Cyber Clinics Canada program. The national network of clinics will train post-secondary students and new cybersecurity professionals to deliver free cybersecurity consulting to public and community organizations. The program is the national expansion of the Catalyst Cyber Clinic, which launched last year to provide cybersecurity support for Canadian non-profits and community organizations.

In a related development, in a statement, Catalyst’s founding executive director Charles Finlay likened cyber clinics to “a teaching hospital for the digital age.”

“Much like teaching hospitals give future healthcare professionals practical experience while serving patients, cyber clinics give learners the opportunity to tackle current cybersecurity challenges under expert supervision, while providing smaller organizations with support they may not otherwise be able to afford,” Finlay declared.

Catalyst launched in 2018 as a national centre for cybersecurity out of Toronto Metropolitan University to promote training, research, and commercial innovation in the field of cybersecurity. Since then, cyberattacks have become more common, especially as AI tools have advanced. An IBM report earlier this year found a 44-percent year-over-year surge in attacks targeting public-facing software or system applications.

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In a statement, Google Canada vice-president and nation manager Sabrina Geremia declared that building a “strong, diverse, and skilled cybersecurity workforce is more essential than ever.”

“Cyber clinics are a proven, scalable model, and expanding this program across Canada will meaningfully improve access to cyber education while delivering critical support to vulnerable organizations that serve Canadians,” Geremia mentioned.

Additionally, while cyber clinic students won’t handle active cyberattacks, they will help organizations with vulnerability and risk assessments, phishing and digital hygiene training, incident response planning, and regulatory and privacy compliance. The Catalyst declared that its program will equip institutions like universities with the tools and knowledge to launch their own cyber clinics, helping build out Canada’s cybersecurity workforce.

Featured image courtesy Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst.