ShieldX Networks (ShieldX) today announced its customer, Iowa State University (ISU), was named a finalist in the 2018 SC Award for Best Cybersecurity Higher Education Program in the Professional Award category for its innovative use of the ShieldX APEIRO™ cloud security platform. Finalists are recognized for their quality of instruction, programs and how well their programs prepare students for the marketplace. SC Award winners will be announced at a ceremony on April 17, 2018 in San Francisco.

“In an age where threats are ever-evolving, it is reassuring to know that one true constant is the commitment of dedicated information security professionals, as best exemplified by our SC Media Awards finalists,” said Illena Armstrong, VP, Editorial, SC Media. “These inspiring innovators have set a high bar for their industry peers, as they continue to protect the world from attacks and vulnerabilities that imperil our security, privacy, and digital infrastructure. The year 2017 brought us WannaCry ransomware infections, the rise of cryptominers, and bugs like Broadpwn and BlueBorne that affected billions of devices. Whatever threats rear their ugly heads in 2018 and beyond, our finalists will be ready to act.”

Now in its 21st year, SC Awards is recognized as the industry gold standard of accomplishment for cybersecurity professionals, products and services. Winners in the Professional Award category are selected by an expert panel of judges and recognize the most talented cybersecurity professionals from end-user companies. Judges conducted in-depth analysis and considered many factors – such as applicable research, analyst reports and/or product reviews – to narrow down the field from hundreds of submissions to just the top finalists.

“Employers including Boeing, Microsoft, Lockheed-Martin, Google, Facebook, Amazon, and virtually every federal agency expect quality hires from ISU because our students receive real-world security experience using innovative products like APEIRO,” said Dr. Doug Jacobson, Director of the Iowa State University Information Assurance Center and university professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Being named a finalist by SC Media is a great honor and validates our decision to work with ShieldX. APEIRO is now an integral part of our cybersecurity training program and was the only solution that could meet all of our security, budget, footprint and scalability needs.”

ISU’s Information Assurance Center uses the ShieldX APEIRO™ cloud security platform to help teach the next generation of cybersecurity professionals how to effectively identify and respond to suspicious activities within multi-cloud environments. APEIRO is the only microservices-based security solution in the world that offers fully automated and on-demand enterprise-grade security across multiple environments from a single console at cloud-principled cost.

“Enterprises are struggling to find the talent and security solutions necessary to defend against the growing sophistication and number of cyberattacks. Security innovations and more rigorous training programs are needed to fill the cybersecurity skills gap,” said Dr. Ratinder Ahuja, founder and CEO of ShieldX. “ShieldX is proud to be working with ISU to ensure new cybersecurity professionals are ready to make an immediate, positive impact upon entering the workforce. We are very proud of Dr. Doug Jacobson and believe the work he is doing at ISU deserves the highest recognition possible.”

Additional resources:

  • ISU Case Study: https://www.shieldx.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/ShieldX-APEIROISU-Case-Study-January-2018-1.pdf

About SC Media

SC Media is cybersecurity. For over 25 years, they have armed information security professionals with in-depth and unbiased information through timely news, comprehensive analysis, cutting-edge features, contributions from thought leaders, and independent product reviews in partnership with and for top-level information security executives and their technical teams.

About ShieldX

ShieldX is redefining cloud security to better protect organizations against cyber threats—regardless of where sensitive data resides or how it moves across public, private or multi-cloud environments. Organizations are using APEIRO to scale security and micro-segmentation on demand, support business innovation, meet compliance requirements and protect against the latest cyberattacks. Based in San Jose, CA, ShieldX was founded in 2015 and is privately funded. Contact us at ShieldX.com.

About Iowa State University

Iowa State University (ISU) was one of the first schools in the country to teach cyber security over 20 years ago. ISU’s Information Assurance Center is a pioneer in the area of competitive forums for teaching information assurance. ISU’s ISEAGE (pronounced “ice age”) cyber defense competitions help prepare students for careers is cybersecurity by providing a controlled environment where real world attacks can be played out against different configurations of equipment. To date, ISEAGE has received over $3.5 million in funding and has the resources to simulate point-to-point and distributed attacks against test configurations. This is a new paradigm for security research and enables the innovative research needed to solve the security problems facing our world today.