About Us

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The Cyber Shield program is designed to assist young people between the ages of 17 – 30 who have a desire to develop tech skills in addition to a career within the cyber security field. Sponsored by Microsoft as a part of their commitment to racial equity and improving digital skills within African-American communities, Cyber Shield recruits a total of (20) participants each year to receive expert tech instruction over a period of 12-weeks that will provide participants with the needed skills to make a successful transition into the tech space. No experience is required and participants are engaged through a hybrid approach, allowing both in-person and remote instruction.

The Cybersecurity program seeks to work in protecting the privacy, security, and environmental sustainability of various systems. CBFI understands this field is a great entry point for young people looking to make a career change or to gain marketable skills within the vast tech space. We base our efforts off six guiding principles along with our partner Microsoft in successfully engaging young Black people in making a switch to tech driven careers:

1. Use data and technology to help people develop new skills. The fastest and most economical way to address the skills shortage is to put technology to work to skill more people faster, starting with digital skills themselves. We’ll use data to identify the skills most in demand and the people who need help the most.
2. Focus on a broad set of skills. Even while we focus on tech-enabled jobs, we’ll work to support the development of broader skills as well, including the acumen needed to ensure the responsible use of technology and the soft skills needed to find and succeed in a new job.
3. Ask employers to do more. We believe that employers will need to play a bigger role than in recent years in helping employees develop these new skills. As an employer ourselves, we will make new training commitments to our employees. And we will help empower our customers so they can better meet the needs of their own employees.
4. Lean on partners. As in so many other important areas, partnerships are fundamental. We will base our work on partnerships with nonprofits and support for governments. And we will focus our support for nonprofits, in particular, on providing added assistance to the people who need this help the most, including communities of color in the United States.
5. Pull together every part of our company. We believe the global skills challenge is a problem that Microsoft can help address if we pull together every part of our company. That’s why today’s initiative brings together Microsoft, LinkedIn, and GitHub, including Microsoft Philanthropies and LinkedIn’s CSR program.
6. Use our voice to change policy. As we learn what helps people most, we will share our data and knowledge and advocate for public policy innovations to support reskilling opportunities.

Our CEO expressed his desire to see our tech educational efforts reside in the cybersecurity space due to it becoming one of the most in-demand fields in recent years. Companies need skilled cybersecurity specialists to protect their information and assets. CFBI’s cybersecurity program provides participants with leading-edge knowledge, hands-on skills and industry certifications to meet the increasing workforce demands of South Florida employers and beyond. The program was built following the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education framework and the Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Education knowledge units sponsored by the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security.

The program will combine input from experts in cybersecurity, practitioners, and retired cybersecurity professionals. Participants will also have the opportunity to conduct hands-on training with real cyber-attacks before completing the program. 

You will gain invaluable educational opportunities that can lead to a growing career and amazing experiences which include, but not limited to:  

• High Employment Rate

According to the Cybersecurity Workforce study, there is a global shortage of roughly 4 million cybersecurity professionals. Florida and the nation as a whole are experiencing a shortage in tech talent in all areas of technology.

• High Salary

The median salary for a Security Analyst in South Florida is $89,754 according to Burning Glass

• Preparation for Certification Exam

The curriculum includes preparation for these certifications: Certified Ethical Hacker, Certified Information Security Manager, Certified Incident Handler, Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator

• Valuable Work Skills for Today's Workplace

The program’s comprehensive curriculum includes coursework in ethical hacking, information security management, network defense, penetration testing, computer forensics, risk management and ethics in cybersecurity.