29 October 2019
PortSwigger - the makers of Burp Suite - have today officially launched the Web Security Academy, a free and interactive training platform to address the growing international talent shortage within the cyber security sector.
https://portswigger.net/web-security
The Web Security Academy has been in beta for the past few months, attracting overwhelming positive user feedback, and has now officially launched with new features.
A global talent shortage
Since 2014, the number of organizations reporting a problematic security skills shortage has more than doubled, from 23% to 51%.
In the US, latest data from CyberSeek shows over 313,000 jobs still available in the sector, with many businesses openly reporting problems finding talent to fill their job vacancies.
The Web Security Academy has been created to address this.
The Web Application Hacker's Handbook - Third Edition
The Web Security Academy is led by Dafydd Stuttard, author of The Web Application Hacker's Handbook, along with PortSwigger's world-renowned research team.
For over a decade, The Web Application Hacker's Handbook has been the de facto standard reference book for people who are learning about web security. Over the years, many people have asked for a third edition, and the Web Security Academy today aims to fulfill this demand with a completely up-to-date and fully interactive online resource.
Benefits of the Web Security Academy
- Completely free of charge.
- Interactive labs with varying levels of difficulty.
- Safe testing environment with no legal risk.
- Track your progress with live leader boards.
- Continuously updated, with new topics and materials added regularly.
- Learn at your own pace, with no set deadlines.
Dafydd Stuttard, CEO of PortSwigger, said: "There has been huge demand for a third edition of The Web Application Hacker's Handbook. After much thought, I concluded that writing another paper book wasn't the right option today. Much better to produce an online edition that is interactive, actively maintained, and accessible to everyone. The Web Security Academy is exactly that."
Notes to editors
PortSwigger are the creators of Burp Suite, the world's most popular software for web security testing. Burp Suite has over 40,000 users across more than 130 countries, and is used by Amazon, Google, and Barclays, amongst others.
Dafydd Stuttard founded PortSwigger in 2004 and is a leading expert in web security. Dafydd authored both editions of The Web Application Hacker's Handbook (2007 and 2011).
The Web Security Academy is a free training platform for web security, featuring a vast amount of high-quality reading materials and interactive labs. The Web Security Academy had a soft launch in April 2019, and officially launched October 2019.
Press contact: Jo Taylor