Vanguard Integrity Professionals Attacks the Unemployment Crisis and National Security Vulnerabilities with Innovative Scholarship Program for Unemployed Cybersecurity Professionals

LAS VEGAS, March 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Integrity Professionals, the leading provider of IBM mainframe security training, today announced they will offer up to 50 3-day training scholarships for unemployed cybersecurity professionals.

The Vanguard Scholarship program is part of Vanguard's commitment to ease our nation's unemployment crisis while focusing on the country's critical computing infrastructure. The Scholarship program will cover the cost of the 3-day Vanguard Security Conference (April 19-22 in Las Vegas) as well as roundtrip airfare, conference meals, and hotel accommodations.

"We understand that corporate financial constraints are forcing cuts in IT security -- this is a historical trend in hard times," said Ronn Bailey, founder and CEO of Vanguard Integrity Professionals. "But past experience has shown us that in times of economic recession, the need for better security dramatically increases. And now, when the need for mainframe security skills has never been greater, the number of trained resources is quickly shrinking. Our Scholarship Program is our commitment to reversing that scenario."

IT security is extremely volatile and changes constantly.  Because of this, skills can quickly become outdated making the person less employable. The Vanguard training event will address mainframe-specific technical security skills that attendees can put to use immediately. Security professionals (without mainframe experience) and mainframe professionals (without security experience) will be cross-trained with the most up-to-date procedures, improving their qualifications, and making them strong candidates for re-employment. Scholarship recipients will also gain insights into the latest government regulations and industry developments that impact day-to-day business practices.

"Our program reaches out to both employers and employment companies to grab these people and put them to work," continued Bailey. "Less people unemployed. Companies running better. Our citizens and country better protected at the same time. This shows what one small company can do to address a big problem. I invite the community to embrace this program and participate with us."

Recent statistics estimate that 85 percent of the nation's critical information infrastructure is controlled by private enterprise. According to Gartner Research Note G00172909, published on January 20, 2010, the "mainframe continues to be an important platform for many enterprises, hosting about 90 percent of their mission critical applications." Gartner validates, "…the incidence of high-risk vulnerabilities is astonishingly high."

The Vanguard Scholarship Program is especially important given Gartner's recommendation that enterprises who rely on mainframes must "Invest in mainframe-specific technical security skills... A real shortage of mature mainframe security skills makes configuration and administration errors more likely [on the mainframe] than on other enterprise server operating systems (OSs) in the same enterprise..."

Vanguard Security Training, a 2010 "SC Magazine" finalist for best professional training program, delivers exactly the kind of training that Gartner recommends, in a concentrated period of time, in a very cost-effective way. The event consists of three full days of speakers and panels focused on examining effective strategies for integrating information security technology. Vanguard has hosted this premier annual mainframe technical security training conference for the last 24 years, providing IT security specialists with both basic and advanced security training from world-class educators drawn from the entire mainframe security community, as well as providing networking opportunities for all participants.

Vanguard will track the attendee's attendance and issue a 'Certificate of Completion.' CISSP®, CISM®, and CISA® certified attendees will also be able to earn Continuing Professional Education credits. Vanguard is also developing partner relationships with employment companies to assist in job placements, as well as notifying employers of the available pool of qualified security professionals.

Gartner's research note is available on the Vanguard web site (www.go2vanguard.com) or directly from Gartner, Inc.

The Scholarship Program

The scholarships include the cost of the 3-day event, conference meals, airfare, and hotel accommodations. To qualify as a candidate, the individual must have previously worked in the security field at a company that uses IBM mainframes; and provide the names and contact information for their past supervisor or manager. Candidates will be verified and qualified entrants will be chosen at the discretion of Vanguard Integrity Professionals. Scholarship entrants must fill out an entry form on the conference web site. More details are provided on the web site at http://www.go2vanguard.com/vsec2010scholarship.php.

About Vanguard Integrity Professionals

Vanguard Integrity Professionals provides enterprise security software and services that solve complex security and regulatory compliance challenges for government agencies and corporations around the world. For more information, visit http://www.go2vanguard.com.

Vanguard Security 2010 is a trademark of Vanguard Integrity Professionals, Inc. Any other trademarks, trade names, service marks, and logos referenced herein belong to their respective companies.

SOURCE Vanguard Integrity Professionals