Powerful, innovative, dedicated not-for-profit mental health initiative for the cyber sector and beyond launched

Cyber and internet industry leader Peter Coroneos, supported by a first-rate board and drawing from a national pool of over 400 accredited facilitators, has launched a powerful, innovative, dedicated not-for-profit mental health initiative for the cyber sector and beyond: Cybermindz.org 

AISA is proud to partner with Cybermindz.org.  Officially launched on Thursday, June 16.  This important initiative was launched by the Hon Victor Dominello MP, NSW Minister for Customer Service and Digital, Cybermindz is the world’s first peer-led, cybersecurity mental health support program

Organisations today depend on cybersecurity teams, both internal and external, to protect us from a growing barrage of cyber threats across a range of attack surfaces. 

Cybercriminals, hackers, nation states and other bad actors also experienced digital acceleration during the pandemic, and escalated their attacks to such levels it feels appropriate to paraphrase the title of Michelle Yeoh's hit new movie and point out we are being attacked by everything, everywhere, all at once. 

The relentless threat environment by unseen attackers is felt directly by our defenders whose neurology adapts to an unhealthy ‘hypervigilance’. 

With cyber security professionals our cyber defenders and protectors, Cybermindz is peer-informed (like helping like) and will operate at scale to transform the human face of cybersecurity. 

Using an evidence based, ‘military-grade’ protocol called Integrative Restoration or iRest, Cybermindz builds and restores cognitive and emotional resilience in our embattled cyber teams and related disciplines. 

The protocol has been used by the US Military since 2006 for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan and in 2010 was approved by the US Army Surgeon General as a Tier 1 complementary therapy..

Drawing from a pool of over 400 iRest accredited teachers in Australia, Cybermindz.org has the ability to provide in-person or remote delivery to individuals and teams to preventatively support and restore their mental health. IRI has also authorised us to develop, with their guidance, customised versions for cyber audiences. 

Mr Coroneos said "The Cybermindz scheme directly addresses the risk of burnout and skills loss.  It also fulfils our moral and ethical obligations to those we invite into our profession, to not let them fall." 

"With the criticality of mental health and its ultimate impacts on human suffering and organisational security, Cybermindz.org's mission — moving well beyond awareness raising — is to deliver peer-informed, effective, accessible relief and resilience building to stressed and embattled cyber teams.”

More information about Cybermindz can be found HERE