Nanyang Polytechnic

Vulnerability management is central to Singapore’s security

At NYP, CET learners are exposed to real-life vulnerability management scenarios and tasked to use Nessus to uncover these vulnerabilities. Nessus ranks the risk level of each relevant hazard and offers recommendations for remediation. Learners can then prepare customized reports for their instructors or executive summaries for organizational leaders in real-world learning situations.

The software's capabilities resonate with the learners. Given the successes from the academic partnership with Tenable, NYP plans to incorporate Nessus into its three-year cybersecurity diploma program.

“Using a leading commercial tool like Nessus in the classroom enables our learners to have actual hands-on, practical training in skills relevant to the actual role they’ll perform at the workplace,” says Win.

Nanyang Polytechnic prepares learners to face tomorrow’s cybersecurity challenges today

Entering the job market with hands-on experience with Nessus will help NYP’s cybersecurity program graduates stand apart from other candidates.

“To ensure that our learners are equipped with in-demand skills, we rolled out the Nanyang Polytechnic Professional Competency Model (NYP-PCM) in 2020. Through the NYP-PCM, we work with leading industry partners to co-develop and co-deliver curriculum and co-certify our learners with industry certification. This allows them to be immediately productive at the workplace," says John Lim, Manager, School of Information Technology, Nanyang Polytechnic.

Learners are also aware of the value of using enterprise-grade tools in the classroom. “Adult learners looking to upgrade their cybersecurity skills increasingly ask what tools we use in our courses. With the addition of Nessus to the training tool set, we believe more learners will be keen to join our cybersecurity courses,” says Win.

Using Nessus in the classroom also improves the learning experience itself. Learners preparing for a job in cybersecurity have a lot to learn in a finite amount of time — just as cybersecurity professionals on the frontline have a limited time to find and remediate security vulnerabilities. Built for security practitioners by security practitioners, Nessus was designed with a single focus of providing a streamlined experience for security professionals to find and fix vulnerabilities faster and more confidently.

The intuitive approach to navigation and user experience means learners pick up on it easily, and educators can focus on what’s important — the fundamentals of vulnerability assessment — rather than the mechanics of how to use a tool. As a result, learners graduate with a firm foundation that will serve them and their employers well, regardless of how the threat landscape changes in the future.