Two childhood friends, both of whom are entrepreneurs based in Montreal, today launched Cyber101, a platform that offers organizations a chance to educate their employees about cybersecurity best practices free of charge, in both English and French. It is the brainchild of Benjamin Beauregard, the chief executive officer (CEO) of video production agency divisionX and Guillaume Belanger, president of Exosource, an IT services company.
With Cyber101, according to a release, “business and individuals can immediately improve their cybersecurity posture in less than an hour.
By taking the course, the two said, organizations stand to:
- Reduce the risks of fraud, data breaches, and disruptions
- Meet the requirements of insurers and privacy laws
- Improve employees’ technological skills
- Demonstrate a serious commitment to cybersecurity to clients and staff.
The release went on to say that Statistics Canada estimated that the proportion of Canadians victimized by cybersecurity incidents increased from 58 per cent in 2020 to 70 per cent in 2022. The most commonly reported incidents were receiving unsolicited emails and fraudulent content.
“When teaching at the McGill Executive Institute, cybersecurity consistently emerges as a critical issue,” said Beauregard. “Guillaume and I created this platform because we believe that education is the key to effectively countering cyber threats.”
Belanger said the Cyber101 platform provides “essential tools to help you stay on top of threats in an increasingly hostile environment.”
Those tools are contained in nine mini-modules taking, the site said, “five minutes or less” and once completed, anyone who successfully answers a series of questions based on each module will then receive what the company calls “a personalized completion certificate.”
The Cyber101 website notes that “millions of businesses and individuals fall victim to cybercrime every year and the consequences can be catastrophic (identity theft, confidential data breaches, extortion ….)
“Cybersecurity awareness has become an absolute necessity for individuals and businesses. Yet, quality content remains out of reach for most. We have decided to produce quality training and to offer it for free.”