UTS to pilot cyber security training to nonprofit sector

The University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) is set to run a pilot program that makes cyber security education available to Australian non-profits in Indigenous, refugee and low socio-economic communities.

The university is one of 11 recipients worldwide of funding from the Kyndryl Foundation.

Established in September 2023 by IBM legacy infrastructure and services spin-out Kyndryl, the foundation’s initial focus is on cyber security activities.

At the time, it explained its aims would be to grow an “inclusive cyber security workforce”, and help nonprofits improve their defences.

Nonprofits in Australia feel vulnerable, Kyndryl noted; they often hold sensitive information, while their budgets and resources are limited.

“According to the Australian Nonprofits State of the Sector 2023 report, 80 percent of nonprofits have not received any cybersecurity training for staff in the last 12 months, despite 79 percent believing that a cyberattack will have a negative impact on their organisation," the foundation said.

The federal government regulator for nonprofits also recently called out cyber security in the sector as one of its key focus areas for 2024-25.

As well as the funding to UTS, Kyndryl will offer experts from its security and resilience technology practice to help create and teach course content.

The program will be offered to as many as 90 students, the foundation said.

"By supporting nonprofit capability development in cyber security skills, these grants address the critical shortage of trained cyber security professionals and contribute to building a more diverse and inclusive tech workforce,” UTS deputy vice-chancellor and vice president of enterprise Glenn Wightwick said in a statement.

UTS faculty of engineering and IT dean Peta Wyeth added that “through providing cyber security expertise and training, we are endeavouring to remove some of the resourcing burdens these organisations face in keeping their sensitive information safe.”