Cybersecurity truck’s valuable lessons

A travelling roadshow designed to show people how to protect their digital systems drew a big crowd in Bunbury last week.

The FortiExpress Cybersecurity Centre’s truck opened its doors on Thursday to show off $2 million worth of cybersecurity technology.

Fortinet systems engineer Nick Henderson said the open houses went well with plenty of interest from a good mix of existing customers and the general public.

Mr Henderson jumped at the chance to work on the FortiExpress and has been with the truck since it left Sydney in August.

“I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to work on something that’s very broad ... I am quite passionate about making people aware of cybersecurity,” Mr Henderson said.

He said 20 people toured the truck in the first two-hour session, taking in a demonstration of what happens when a malicious program breaks through a firewall.

People also responded well to Fortinet’s security fabric demonstration, showing how to isolate infected computers within a network.

Mr Henderson has worked for Fortinet for three years and has seen the value in educating people about cybersecurity.

“Studies have shown there are over two million cybersecurity jobs available ... there’s a shortage in the market and cybersecurity jobs could increase to three million by 2021,” Mr Henderson said.

Bunbury Geographe Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Mark Seaward said the sessions were valuable to members.

There were also members from the education sector discussing ways of creating pathways for students to enter the cybersecurity workforce.

Despite its success there is little chance of the centre returning to Bunbury because of its hectic global schedule.