Cybersecurity: Where Economic Development and Stable Careers Align

COVID-19 has had a devastating impact over the last several months, negatively impacting our society on every level. The unemployment rate, while declining slightly in June, still exceeds 11%. Businesses of all sizes have experienced severe economic impacts, some of which will never open their doors again post-COVID. The number of personal tragedies and losses due to COVID-related deaths have yet to be fully calculated.

Yet in the midst of the chaos created by this healthcare crisis, practitioners in the field of cybersecurity have remained largely immune from the financial impact. In some instances, disciplines within Information Security as a whole have experienced periods of rapid growth and expansion.

Although nothing can change the wide range of negative impacts to date, the potential for a bright future remains for those workers displaced and/or unemployed by the COVID crisis.

Phase2 Advantage and the five campuses of Savannah Technical College have joined in a strategic partnership to provide both training and opportunity to citizens of The Low Country in preparation of the post-COVID environment. The goal of this partnership is to be part of a positive solution which addresses career stability, professional development, and economic development for the people and businesses residing and operating within the region.

Phase2 Advantage and Savannah Technical College will be offering numerous cybersecurity training programs beginning in August 2020. Due to COVID, the initial courses will be conducted as instructor-led programs, with classroom courses starting when the health crisis passes. The first two courses being offered in this strategic partnership are listed below.

The past, like any life experience, cannot be changed or undone. However, the future chapters in the “book of life experience” do not have to be dictated by the past, and can begun to be written at any time of one’s choosing.

It is our sincere hope that Phase2 Advantage and Savannah Technical College can contribute to many future stories and have a positive impact on the communities we serve.

Click the Graphics Below to View the Course Descriptions

Michael I. Kaplan is the founder and CEO of Phase2 Advantage, and currently manages the Defensive Security initiatives of the company. He is a military veteran and a national advocate for the military affiliate community. After attending the U.S. Army’s Intelligence Center of Excellence at Fort Huachuca in Arizona in 1983, he attended the Defense Language Institute, Airborne School, several specialized Schools at FT. Bragg in North Carolina, and was assigned to the 11th Special Forces Group (AGR).

Michael was recruited in 1989 to Special Projects Group and served as an instructor and operator on a Federal International Fugitive Task Force (his FBI letters of reference can be viewed on his LinkedIn profile). He was responsible for supervising and training 325 agents who were responsible for more than 3,000 UFAP apprehensions in seven years. Michael left government service in 1994 to pursue a career in High-Threat Executive Protection as an instructor and operator, then founded Phase2 Advantage in 2014. His numerous Instructor firearm certifications are listed on the Phase2 Advantage website and LinkedIn.

Feel free to contact Michael at michael.kaplan@phase2advantage.com.