Startup Attempting to Solve Tech's Biggest Problem

A cybersecurity training program launched in Greenbelt earlier this year is blowing up, with 200,000 people worldwide taking its courses. It just raised $400k to tackle one of the toughest problems in the IT field: diversity.

Cybrary, which raised its seed round from Inner Loop Capital and New Stack Ventures, is working with Women in Technology and Cornerstone to train more women to become specialized in cybersecurity skills. Founder Ryan Corey says about 17% of Cybrary’s 200,000 students are women, a jump from 12% a few weeks after the program launched. 

The number of women taking Cybrary’s virtual courses will jump after a partnership with Women in Technology is finalized, making its cybersecurity leadership platform available to members. They can get certified as chief information security officers and for other types of leadership positions. Cornerstone, a new community program in the DC area, recently started using Cybrary’s classroom space to train refugee women on basic computer skills.

Ryan, who launched Cybrary after a 13-year career in IT training, says one of the biggest barriers to a cybersecurity career is the cost of training, which can be in the thousands. It’s partly why there will be 1.5 million unfilled cybersecurity jobs by 2018. Cybrary offers its programs for free and generates revenue from companies that hire Cybrary to train employees on security compliance. Ryan says he’ll also start charging companies to search a database of its students’ résumés. Since 74% of Cybrary’s students are in other countries, he’s also working on getting the courses translated.