About Agoge
The Current State as We See It
The cybersecurity industry is broken. It's broken because the incentive structures are not adequately aligned to benefit businesses that need help with their cybersecurity programs and cybersecurity engineers who work in the field.
Academic institutions (which I sit on some advisory boards) are not measured based on the skills they impart to their students. They are not held accountable if their students cannot find a job in their field after graduation. They are measured by how many students they can graduate.
Cybersecurity vendors are financially incentivized to promote as many tools as possible to maximize revenue. Quality tooling is needed, but most organizations need more qualified staff to run those tools. Organizations spend millions and tens of millions on tools their employees need to learn how to leverage.
Authentic, affordable cybersecurity education is missing; I'm trying to fill that gap with agoge.io. I certainly don't know everything. As I get older, I realize how much I don't know. But what I know is that we need more quality education available to the masses if we're going to mitigate the current and future cybersecurity challenges.
I will share with anyone who will listen to what I've learned in the past 30 years working in information security. I hope that friends in this space will also contribute to this body of knowledge. I welcome those of you who want to come along on this journey with me; for those of you who seek a traditional route, I wish you nothing but success.
Our Mission
It is to aid in providing the knowledge and skills that cybersecurity hiring managers are looking for, to provide the skills that allow individuals to have a career that allows them to provide for their families.
We will do our best to provide individuals with a path to a better economic future not by some "hack" but by struggling through the "hot gates," diligently studying, and disciplining the mind to acquire the knowledge needed to bring more value to the world.
Why is this the Mission?
Because things are getting worse, according to securitymagazine.com, cyberattacks increased by 38% in 2022 from 2021. According to Cybersecurity Ventures, global cybersecurity job vacancies grew by 350 percent, from one million openings in 2013 to 3.5 million in 2021. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the outlook for cybersecurity job growth from 2021 to 2031 is 35%, which is "much faster than average."
Yet, with such a demand for cybersecurity skills, there is immense confusion about how to break into the job field. Myriads of individuals struggle to find a path and a plan for attaining the skills required to be valued by hiring managers.
Education and certifications have become too expensive for most individuals. For example, for an entry-level certification, the Security+ examination prep bundles begin at $565.00 and can reach almost $2500.00. SANS, another organization historically known for its quality training, charges over $9000.00 for a 5-day on-demand pre-recorded course. The current system is unsustainable and broken; we must train, we must adapt, we must defend… We must do better.
Why Call it "agoge"?
The agoge was according to Wikipedia (I know, a high-quality resource):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agoge
"The education featured in the agoge involved cultivating loyalty to Sparta through military training (e.g., pain tolerance), hunting, dancing, singing, and social (communicating) preparation. The agoge was divided into three age groups, roughly corresponding to young children, adolescents, and young adults".
I chose this term intentionally for a few reasons. First, the path to becoming a qualified cybersecurity engineer takes grueling work. There are many topics that one must become competent in to be effective. Don't let one tell you cybersecurity is an "easy" field. You can probably make more money as a welder or electrician with a lot less student loan debt than a cybersecurity engineer. You do it because you love it.
Second, while Spartan women did not undergo the formal agoge, they were provided with the most comprehensive educational program in ancient Greece.
To those who have problems with the Spartans, yes, they weren't perfect, but as Voltaire stated: