Luring cybersecurity industry is big business.

AuthorMoodie, Samantha
PositionTrends

States anticipate a boom in the cybersecurity industry, and many want in. With data collection and costly database breaches both on the rise, states have taken notice.

"We've seen it in private industry, we've seen it with Sony, we've seen it with foreign governments, we've seen it all over the place and what I'm afraid of is that we are going to see a much more serious attack," said Florida Representative Ray Pilon (R).

That fear has made cybersecurity one of the nation's fastest growing industries. Demand for information security professionals is growing 12 times faster than that for other jobs and is expected to increase by 53 percent in the next three years, according to Stanford University's Peninsula Press, which covers Silicon Valley. However, there are not enough workers in the pipeline to meet the demand.

Lawmakers hope that through education and the formation of public-private partnerships, they can help the industry grow--along the way boosting their economies, increasing the number of stable, attractive jobs and encouraging graduates with degrees in cybersecurity and related fields to come to their states and stay.

In Florida, for example, the Legislature enacted a statute creating the Florida Center for Cybersecurity at the University of South Florida last year. The center plans to expand cybersecurity degree programs statewide, including a master's program at the university, and create...

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