Austin-based security firm says the world needs more smart hackers

As cybersecurity job market suffers severe workforce shortage, a leading information security firm engages next-generation talent face-to-face to address skills gap.

AUSTIN, Texas – Sept. 17, 2014 – The University of Texas at Austin welcomed two new adjunct professors to the department of computer science this fall. Nathan Sportsman and Chris Prosise, of Austin-based cybersecurity company Praetorian, have joined the university to teach the newly created CS 378 Ethical Hacking course. The two industry veterans are joining the talented and diverse group of professors as part of the computer science department’s expanded commitment to security as part of the degree curriculum. The class will provide students with a practical, hands-on opportunity to learn real-world security.

“With the security industry facing a severe talent shortage, Praetorian is excited by the opportunity to engage with university students on the escalating importance of cybersecurity and to teach real-world skills to the next generation of security professionals,” Sportsman, Praetorian’s CEO and founder, said.

Sportsman’s experience has crossed most industry sectors, and his clients have ranged from leading Wall Street and Silicon Valley companies to government intelligence agencies and renowned educational institutions. An active participant in the security community, Sportsman is a frequent public speaker and has lectured on the latest hacking techniques for the National Security Agency; served as an instructor for the Ultimate Hacking Series at the Black Hat information security conference; and is a regular speaker for various security organizations, such as ISSA, Infragard, and OWASP. In addition, Sportsman is a contributing author to the sixth and seventh editions of the world’s best-selling computer security book, Hacking Exposed. An engineer by trade, Sportsman is a U.S. patent holder (issue no. 7444268), an NIST individual contributor, and an open source developer. He holds a bachelor of science in electrical & computer engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Prosise co-founded Foundstone Inc. and served as senior vice president of professional services at McAfee, the holding company of Foundstone Inc. Also, as an adjunct professor at Carnegie Mellon University, Prosise taught graduate students the latest techniques in computer security and served as a faculty advisor. He is co-author of the best-selling book Incident Response: Investigating Computer Crime. Today, Prosise actively serves as vice president of Praetorian in its Austin headquarters.

The course, held in the Bill & Melinda Gates Computer Science Complex and Dell Computer Science Hall, prepares students to address cybersecurity challenges faced by today’s leading organizations. Students will use security tools to assess, defend, and investigate modern computer systems and networks. Students will also learn the fundamentals of secure coding through analysis of vulnerable applications.

“We are thrilled to join the UT Austin team teaching computer science students at the Gates Dell Center,” said Prosise. “Looking forward to sharing our hands on experiences delivering practical security to industry clients,” he added.

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