Fortinet Awarded CyberSecurity Breakthrough 2020 “Professional Certification Program of the Year”

Fortinet is proud to announce that, for the second year running, the Network Security Expert (NSE) Training Institute’s Certification Program has been named the winner of the “Professional Certification Program of the Year” award in the fourth annual CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards program. This award comes from CyberSecurity Breakthrough, a leading independent market intelligence organization that honors excellence and recognizes innovation, hard work, and success in a range of information security categories, including Cloud Security, Threat Detection, Risk Management, Fraud Prevention, Mobile Security, and Email Security, among others. 

“For the second year in a row, we are thrilled to recognize Fortinet for winning our ‘Professional Certification Program of the Year’ award,” said James Johnson, managing director, CyberSecurity Breakthrough. “Fortinet’s training and certification program stands out as it continues to innovate and expand, including the introduction of free cybersecurity training courses earlier this year. Creating and maintaining a vigilant cybersecurity mindset is key for all organizations and their employees – and cybersecurity awareness is a vital component for everyone.”

Fortinet NSE Certification Program’s Growing Momentum

The Fortinet Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification Program is an eight-level certification program that has issued more than half a million certifications to date. The first set of levels (1-3) assess a user’s knowledge of the threat landscape and can be helpful for anyone who wants to become more cyber aware. Moving up, NSE levels 4-6 are courses designed for a technical audience. These focus on one’s ability to install, configure, and troubleshoot comprehensive, integrated network security controls in live environments. Lastly, levels 7-8 hone in on the expertise needed to fully leverage Fortinet solutions. To become NSE 8 certified, an elite distinction, candidates must have related industry experience and should have completed the appropriate Professional, Analyst, Specialist, and Architect designation training. To date, there are 381 individuals worldwide who have earned their NSE 8 certification. 

Additionally, earlier this year, Fortinet opened its entire catalog of self-paced NSE training courses to the public for free for anyone looking to learn new cybersecurity skills or upskill helping to close the skills gap. The free training includes access to pre-recorded labs and advanced training. More recently, Fortinet extended its free training offerings and introduced the Information Security Awareness and Training service available for organizations to implement as part of their employee cybersecurity training program. The new service includes training to ensure all employees can identify and avoid threats, awareness components to keep security top-of-mind and an administrative dashboard to track training completion. 

Closing the Skills Gap through the NSE Training Institute 

For the second year in a row, the Fortinet NSE Training Institute’s Certification Program has been recognized by CyberSecurity Breakthrough for its role in helping technical professionals not only validate their existing knowledge but also expand on their understanding of various concepts related to network security. Fortinet is committed to closing the skills gap through initiatives like the NSE Training Institute as we recognize the need for security professionals and non-technical employees alike to be cyber aware of the latest threats and solutions to keep their organizations safe.  

Find out more about Fortinet’s NSE Training Institute programs, including the Certification Program, Security Academy Program and Veterans Program, which provide critical cybersecurity training and education to help solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.