EC-Council Announces $3.5 Million CCT Scholarship to Spark New Cybersecurity Careers Globally

EC-Council announced a worldwide $3.5 million scholarship fund to help train up qualified candidates for entry level cybersecurity jobs as part of a workforce development program to address the critical cybersecurity workforce gap. The CCT Scholarship for Cybersecurity Career Starters initiative will provide a full tuition certification scholarship for high school students, university students, and working professionals – whether presently in a technical career track or changing paths – to become fully accredited EC-Council Certified Cybersecurity Technicians. The worldwide scholarship will help infuse a trained cyber-literate and solution-focused workforce to organizations globally.

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“The CCT program is a practical, immersive program, with students spending 50% of their time in 85 different labs”

Even as big technology companies lay off thousands of employees, strong demand for cybersecurity professionals is on the rise. CCTs are multi-domain cybersecurity professionals trained in all 4 domains of cybersecurity; network defense, ethical hacking, incident handling and digital forensics, and are qualified to take on many entry level cybersecurity jobs in business, government, and other organizations.

“In the United States alone, there are 700,000 open cyber jobs, according to the government’s Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the situation is worse in Asia,” said Jay Bavisi, EC-Council CEO and President. “Meanwhile, new technologies like cloud-computing, AI and robotics enable new attack vectors. The situation is dire, and the clock is ticking. As the inventor of the Certified Ethical Hacker standard and the leading provider of online cyber education and certification, we feel a duty to help.”

The Certified Cybersecurity Technician program equips aspiring cybersecurity professionals with the skills they need to pursue careers such as cybersecurity specialists, consultants, network engineers, IT administrators. It covers the fundamentals of information security, network security, computer forensics, risk management, incident handling, and industry best practices.

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“The CCT program is a practical, immersive program, with students spending 50% of their time in 85 different labs,” said Steve Graham, EC-Council Senior Vice President and Head of Product and Security Strategy. “CCT is delivered on a live Cyber Range utilizing live targets and real attack systems, letting students develop not just knowledge but actual skill. This method of teaching is critical to turning out thoughtful, prepared, ready cybersecurity professionals.”

Students enrolled in the CCT program will receive the full official curriculum, online courseware covering 22 immersive modules. This includes 200 hours of video-based learning, 85 hands-on labs, capture-the-flag (CTF) exercises, 2,400 pages of content including 900 pages of lab guides, and a certification exam voucher. CCT normally retails for $999. Scholarship recipients will have their full tuition costs covered and will only be financially responsible for a $199 examination proctoring and technology fee. The examination to receive the certification is done online and proctored live.

EC-Council is currently accepting applications globally, and while there are no prerequisites to apply for the C|CT program, deserving scholarship applicants will be selected based on their career goals and potential for success in the field. While the scholarship will run for a year and will end by 1st March 2024, but it will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis, due to limited seats.

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