LTRI and ISACA use cybersecurity to advance career readiness. September 15, 2026 Louisiana Tech University and the Louisiana Tech Research Institute (LTRI) are addressing the demand for cybersecurity professionals by creating the Cyber Technology Practitioner Program (CTPP) with ISACA, an initiative designed to bridge the gap between classroom learning and workforce readiness. According to ISACA's State of Cybersecurity report, 55 percent of organizations say their cyber teams are understaffed, while 70 percent expect demand for technical contributors to continue rising. For Louisiana Tech, that presents an opportunity to prepare graduates with the practical skills employers need without adding entirely new degree programs. CTPP weaves industry-recognized credentials into students' academic experience, combining faculty-guided instruction with hands-on labs, tuition support and professional mentoring. The result is a learning environment where students apply classroom knowledge in real-world scenarios while building credentials employers recognize. Since launching in 2024 with 24 participants, the program has grown to 60 students in the first quarter of 2026. "In addition to rigorous academic coursework, the industry training and certificates from this program give students a meaningful advantage as they begin and advance their careers while helping businesses fill critical roles with skilled talent," Warren Ward, executive director of LTRI and CTPP program director, said. Beyond the classroom, participants receive ISACA student memberships, review sessions, webinars and Q&A forums that extend learning into professional practice. Students say the combination of academic learning, hands-on experience, and industry credentials helped them transition from the classroom to the workplace with confidence. For Karma McCoy, CTPP participant, that advantage translated into a job offer after just one month of searching. "After only a month of job searching, I received an offer to work on a company's cybersecurity projects," McCoy said. "The knowledge I gained helped me pass the company's screening project, which was similar to work I had already performed within this program." Employers report that graduates arrive with a stronger understanding of cybersecurity, compliance, and technical documentation. "One standout student supported CMMC 2.0 compliance efforts for a federal-facing business I was involved with at the time," Tom Bowman, chief growth officer for Altech Solutions, LLC, said. "Her ISACA certificate training helped her understand security obligations, documentation requirements, and why certain controls mattered in practice. She reduced research time and was able to engage with technical and policy materials that typically require post-hire training." Businesses benefit by having a direct pipeline to skilled employees in highly competitive fields. By combining academic instruction with hands-on learning and industry-recognized credentials, Louisiana Tech has built a pathway from the classroom to the workforce industry. Students can earn ISACA foundational certificates in: * Artificial Intelligence Fundamentals * Blockchain Fundamentals * Cloud Computing Fundamentals * Cybersecurity Fundamentals * Data Science Fundamentals * Internet of Things Fundamentals * IT Audit Fundamentals * IT Risk Fundamentals Students can also prepare for advanced ISACA certifications, including: * Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) * Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE)

FCMB honoured by ISACA for advancing digital trust. Published By Abimbola Aderinola Date 2nd September, 2026 Quick read. The honour reflects FCMB's partnership with ISACA to promote knowledge sharing, professional development, and stronger standards across Nigeria's technology sector. First City Monument Bank (FCMB) has been honoured by the Lagos Chapter of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) for its contributions to technology governance, cybersecurity, risk management, audit, assurance, and digital trust in Nigeria. The honour reflects FCMB's partnership with ISACA to promote knowledge sharing, professional development, and stronger standards across Nigeria's technology sector. Yemisi Edun, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of FCMB, accepted a commemorative plaque recognising the Bank's contributions to digital trust and professional development at the chapter's 30th anniversary celebration in Lagos on August 21. Discover more Newspaper Digital Access Geographic Reference 2027 Election Coverage "We value our partnership with ISACA," Edun said. "This honour reflects our shared commitment to strengthening the professional capabilities and standards that underpin digital trust. As financial services become more technology-driven, sound governance, cybersecurity, risk management, and assurance will remain essential to institutional resilience, customer protection, and sustainable economic growth." Edun expressed confidence that ISACA would continue to develop professionals with the expertise and leadership required to respond to emerging risks and opportunities. ISACA Global CEO Erik Prusch highlighted the experience and resilience of Nigeria's information technology and cybersecurity professionals. He said organisations need trained, capable employees to support growth, respond to change, and take advantage of emerging technologies. Justus Osuji, President of the ISACA Lagos Chapter, said the anniversary provided an opportunity to reflect on three decades of professional service, leadership, and knowledge development. He also highlighted the chapter's contributions to information systems auditing, cybersecurity, governance, risk, compliance, and emerging technology in Nigeria and beyond. FCMB continues to invest in digital capabilities, technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, and risk management as part of its strategy to provide secure and convenient financial services to individuals, businesses, and institutions. Discover more Politics News Analysis Executive Branch Founded in 1969, ISACA is a global professional association focused on information technology governance, cybersecurity, risk management, and information systems auditing. It has members in 188 countries and more than 225 chapters worldwide.

Jim West delivers two talks at ISACA GRC 2026 in San Diego. Jim West, CEO and Founder of TopCyberPro.com, presenting at the 2026 ISACA GRC Conference in San Diego. In both sessions, West challenges GRC professionals to move beyond awareness and into taking action now. Boards, risk leaders, auditors, CISOs, and system owners must stop treating quantum security as a distant issue and treat it as a resilience, disaster recovery, and trust-infrastructure issue." - Jim West SAN DIEGO, CA, UNITED STATES, August 18, 2026 / EINPresswire.com / - Award-winning cybersecurity expert, author, and TopCyberPro.com founder Jim West is speaking this week at the 13th annual Governance, Risk, and Control Conference, jointly presented by ISACA and The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), taking place August 17-19, 2026, in San Diego and virtually. The conference brings together governance, risk, control, audit, and cybersecurity professionals for world-class content, practical guidance, and forward-looking insight into today's most complex risk environment. West is presenting one of his most requested sessions, "The Encryption Endgame: Beating the Quantum Clock," a timely and urgent presentation focused on the governance, risk, and operational impact of quantum computing on modern cryptography. First created and delivered by West in 2017, the talk has evolved alongside the quantum threat landscape and remains one of his most requested and longest-running sessions. The session examines harvest-now/decrypt-later risk, the exposure of sensitive long-life data, the weakening of legacy public-key cryptography, and the need for organizations to begin building quantum-readiness roadmaps now. Drawing on the session's core content, West offers three pieces of guidance he considers non-negotiable for organizations navigating the post-quantum transition. First, because adversaries can capture encrypted data today and decrypt it once sufficiently powerful quantum computers exist, organizations must secure sensitive communications now rather than waiting for a formal Q-Day announcement. Second, he urges organizations to build a complete cryptographic inventory and prioritize remediation based on how long specific data must remain protected, rather than migrating systems in an ad hoc order. Third, he recommends layering defenses using NSA's Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) framework - built on the "rule of two," or two independent layers of cryptography - alongside Zero Trust architecture, giving organizations a defensible, field-tested bridge strategy while formal post-quantum cryptography standards continue to mature. "Q-Day is not just a technology problem; it is a governance failure waiting to happen if organizations do not act," said West. "The encrypted traffic being captured today may become readable in the future. That means boards, risk leaders, auditors, CISOs, and system owners must stop treating quantum security as a distant science project and start treating it as a resilience, disaster recovery, and trust-infrastructure issue." On the first day of the conference, West spoke on" The Art of War in Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity Strategy in an Ever-Changing Threat Landscape," highlighting how the approximately 2,500-year-old guidance is applicable today. Attendees interested in the strategic framework behind the session can find further detail in West's book, The Art of War in Cybersecurity, which expands on the themes covered in the presentation. West brings an unusually broad perspective to the post-quantum discussion. With more than 35 years in cybersecurity, more than 100 professional certifications - including CISSP with all three ISC2 advanced concentrations (ISSAP, ISSEP, ISSMP), C-CISO, GPEN, CTIA, ECES, and CHFI - and thousands of continuing education hours across cryptography, governance, risk management, systems engineering, cloud, AI, Zero Trust, NSA security engineering, RMF, NIST, COBIT, ISO, CSfC, MBSE, and related frameworks, West approaches quantum security as an enterprise architecture and risk management challenge - not simply a cryptographic algorithm change. He currently serves as a Senior Cybersecurity Advisor supporting U.S. defense operations in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), and completes approximately 400-600 continuing education hours annually to stay current with technology changes. West's recent thought leadership reinforces that message. In ISACA Journal, he authored" Commercial Cybersecurity in the Post-Quantum Era: Applying NSA CSfC Principles," published April 29, 2026, focused on adapting Commercial Solutions for Classified principles to improve cryptographic resilience. In GRC Outlook, his article" Q-Day and Disaster Recovery: Building a Quantum-Ready Resilience Playbook ," reframed Q-Day as a disaster recovery and trust-restoration problem, emphasizing crypto inventory, crypto-agility, hybrid migration approaches, certificate reissuance, key rotation, and third-party readiness. West was also recently profiled by CP Magazine in "The Man Who Could Save Cybersecurity," which highlighted his multi-domain approach across cybersecurity, engineering, architecture, governance, risk management, and emerging technologies. The profile noted his long-running warnings about harvest-now/decrypt-later attacks, his advocacy for crypto-agility and layered security architectures, and his ability to integrate multiple frameworks into a unified method for solving complex cybersecurity problems. Through both sessions at ISACA GRC 2026, West challenges GRC professionals to move beyond awareness and into action - whether the threat is quantum decryption or the broader, ever-shifting cybersecurity landscape. His core message is direct: the clock is already ticking, and the organizations that inventory, prioritize, engineer, and govern their dependencies today, with strategy as sharp as their adversaries', will be the ones best positioned to withstand what's next. Legal Disclaimer: EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. 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