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The cybersecurity experience gap continues to widen at an alarming pace, with organizations worldwide struggling to validate their teams’ readiness for increasingly sophisticated threats.
According to the latest ISC2 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Study, the workforce gap has reached 4,763,963 people, representing a 19.1% increase from 2023. With 90% of organizations reporting skills shortages and 58% believing these gaps put their organizations at significant risk, the need for measurable, validated cybersecurity competencies has never been more urgent.
To bridge this gap, the Cyberbit team is proud to introduce Certificates of Completion, a new certification program that validates hands-on cybersecurity experience and skills earned through our cyber range platform. This initiative is designed to provide both individuals and organizations with credible, measurable proof of readiness in the face of constant and relentless cyber threats.
Over the past decade, universities and academic programs have significantly increased their focus on cybersecurity education, producing a new generation of qualified graduates. But despite this progress, the workforce gap remains wide. How can this be? This disconnect reveals an important distinction: the challenge is not about acquiring knowledge, but about gaining real-world experience.
Many job-seekers may hold degrees or certifications, yet still fall short of the hands-on expertise required in high-stakes cybersecurity environments. This is where the traditional skills gap becomes an experience gap.
For organizations, this creates a significant challenge: how to take a promising entry-level talent and progress them efficiently into more advanced roles, for example, moving from a Tier 1 SOC analyst to a Tier 2. The Cyberbit Certificates of Completion address this need by enabling organizations to deliver real-life, experience-based training that bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and operational readiness.
Validating practical skills through realistic simulations allows organizations to confidently develop internal talent, accelerate role progression, and ensure their teams are prepared to respond to live threats with speed and confidence.
As cyber threats grow more advanced, defenders must demonstrate more than theoretical knowledge. They must prove they can respond in high-pressure and real-world scenarios. At the same time, compliance requirements are becoming stricter, demanding documented evidence of cybersecurity competencies. Organizations also need clear, quantifiable outcomes from the training they invest in, especially as budgets tighten and scrutiny increases.
Let’s break down these critical needs.
Advanced threat sophistication: Attackers have become smarter and more cunning than ever, employing increasingly sophisticated techniques, requiring cybersecurity professionals to possess advanced defensive skills — and most importantly, experience — that go beyond basic training. Defenders need to think like attackers and respond with precision.
Regulatory compliance requirements: Organizations across industries face mounting pressure to demonstrate documented cybersecurity competencies. Regulatory bodies and industry standards now require proof of team capabilities, making certifications essential for compliance and risk management.
Training investment accountability: With cybersecurity training budgets under scrutiny (what else is new, right?), organizations need measurable outcomes from their professional development investments. Certifications provide quantifiable evidence of training effectiveness and return on investment.
Structured expertise development: The complexity of cybersecurity requires a structured approach to building and maintaining security expertise. Certifications provide a clear pathway for systematic skill development aligned with industry best practices.
For security leaders and team managers, these certificates offer a new level of visibility into team capabilities. Rather than relying on abstract training metrics or hours logged, Certificates of Completion earned through the Cyberbit platform provide concrete proof that team members can respond effectively to real-world cyberattacks. This clarity supports everything from workforce planning to board reporting, and it enables more strategic decisions around skill development.
In regulated industries, the certificates also serve as documented evidence of compliance with industry standards and training mandates. They help ensure that cybersecurity teams aren’t just trained, they’re validated and ready. And with real experience and skills come real results: faster incident response times, greater confidence under pressure, and a stronger organizational security posture overall.
Cyberbit’s certification program is built on our proven ActiveExperiences™ Catalog, where professionals train using the same tools, environments, and threat scenarios they face on the job. Assessments are conducted through live attack simulations, using real networks and industry tools, providing the most realistic validation experience available.
Real-world validation through live simulations: Unlike traditional certification programs that rely on theoretical knowledge, our certifications are earned through live attack simulations conducted on actual networks. This approach ensures that certified professionals have demonstrated their ability to respond to authentic security incidents.
MITRE ATT&CK framework alignment: Our assessments are meticulously based on current threat landscapes and tactics, aligned with the MITRE ATT&CK framework. Certified professionals understand and can counter the specific techniques used by today’s attackers.
NICE framework integration: Cyberbit Certifications of Completion are strategically mapped to specific cybersecurity roles and competencies outlined in the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) framework. This means that certifications directly translate to job-relevant experience skills.
Practical application with professional tools: All testing is conducted using the same tools and technologies that cybersecurity professionals use in their daily work. This hands-on approach ensures that certified individuals can immediately apply their skills in real-world environments.
Comprehensive coverage: Your team can get certified on the full spectrum of cybersecurity disciplines, from incident response and threat hunting to security operations and forensics.
I invite you to explore our growing catalog of certificates here. Each course and credential is designed to reinforce real-world experience and skills while providing verifiable recognition of achievement.
Whether you’re looking to validate your SOC’s incident response capabilities, to measure your team’s readiness, or working to meet compliance requirements, Cyberbit Certificates of Completion offer a powerful new way to move from training to true experience validation.
Ready to see how Cyberbit can transform your cybersecurity training into verified, real-life skills? Get in touch to discover how you can close the experience gap with confidence.