RSA Conference – Mandiant, Inc. (NASDAQ: MNDT) today announced that Avera Health has been selected as the first 2022 Mandiant Academy^™ Quarterly Grant Program awardee. Launched in early 2022, the quarterly grant program seeks to help close the cyber security skills gap through cyber intelligence training courses developed by industry-leading experts.

“Avera has taken an aggressive approach to addressing cyber security threats through not only our IT team’s efforts but also by providing regular education to all employees,” said Bruk Kammerman, CIO, Avera Health. “While IT teams can do a lot to provide security, it really is a partnership with the rest of the organization. We’re grateful to be the first 2022 Mandiant Academy Quarterly Grant Program awardee and to benefit from the expertise and resources they will be able to share. As we see an increase in the variety and sophistication of the cyber security threats the health care sector faces, this program will provide valuable tools to help us protect our patients, residents and employees.”

Based in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Avera Health is a regional, vertically integrated health system that employs 20,000 individuals across 330 hospital, clinic and service locations in 100 communities within five states. As a healthcare provider dedicated to caring for the mind, body and soul, maintaining patient trust with their personally identifiable and health information is of utmost importance. Therefore, cyber security plays a significant and growing role in the mission of Avera Health.

Healthcare organizations have increasingly become prime targets of ransomware attacks, disrupting services and leading to negative patient outcomes. Support from the Mandiant Academy grant program will have a positive impact not only on Avera’s dedicated cyber security team, but also for the nearly 1,000,000 residents within its service area who rely on Avera to provide high-quality care when it is needed most. The on-demand training awarded through the grant program is designed to allow its cyber security team to stay fully up-to-date in combating ransomware attacks and continued education opportunities.

“We’re excited to announce Avera Health as our first Mandiant Academy quarterly grant winner,” said Vikram Ramesh, Chief Marketing Officer at Mandiant. “Nonprofit healthcare organizations play a significant role in community care. The on-demand training provided through this program will help empower the Avera Health security team to stay relentless in the fight against persistent threats and keep patients’ information safe.”

Part of the Mandiant Gives Back initiative, the Mandiant Academy Quarterly Grant Program seeks to support nonprofit organizations by providing its members up to 960 hours of free on-demand intelligence training developed by Mandiant experts. The on-demand intelligence training courses are purposefully designed to fit any schedule and provide interactive assessments to drive engagement as well as best practice cyber intelligence frameworks and operations for quick adoption. The courses enable security professionals to better understand cyber intelligence fundamentals and dive deep into how to turn intelligence into action.

The 2022 Mandiant Academy Quarterly Grant Program is accepting applications on a rolling basis. To learn more and to submit an application visit, https://www.mandiant.com/mandiant-gives-back.

About Mandiant, Inc.

Since 2004, Mandiant® has been a trusted partner to security-conscious organizations. Effective security is based on the right combination of expertise, intelligence, and adaptive technology, and the Mandiant Advantage SaaS platform scales decades of frontline experience and industry-leading threat intelligence to deliver a range of dynamic cyber defense solutions. Mandiant’s approach helps organizations develop more effective and efficient cyber security programs and instills confidence in their readiness to defend against and respond to cyber threats.

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