Leaders in Washington are working to strengthen the state’s cybersecurity workforce, increasing the number of registrations for cybersecurity programs at community and technical colleges by 500 seats.
This $6.85 million effort was funded by the state legislature.
“Bank accounts, social security numbers, health information, names and addresses of family and friends – all these data create a treasure house of information for cybercriminals who want to commit identity fraud or sell information to others,” said Paul Francis, executive director of the board of directors of the Washington State School of community and technology.
“Through this investment, our university will train more network security personnel at all levels,” Francis said in an email.
Universities around Washington apply for new funds, which are allocated by the board of directors. The winners were announced this week. Green River College in Auburn, south of Seattle, and Edmund college in north of Seattle both received about $1.5 million. Each seat will add more than 100 new seats for students.
“This will enable Edmonds’ cybersecurity and digital forensics instructors to focus on their core mission – to help students who want to obtain new successful careers, and to help industry professionals who want to improve their skills and improve their career paths,” Mike Andrew, Edmonds’ lecturer on cyber terrorism, said in a statement.
The college will use its funds to carry out a number of projects, including industry certification, network security expert training and digital forensics.
Last year, after a data leak incident with the State Audit Office, Washington established a cyber security office, which involved the personal information of at least 1.47 million residents.
After Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, cyber security agencies and experts warned organizations to be highly vigilant against Russian attacks. President Biden’s $2 trillion “rebuild better” plan also tries to promote cybersecurity work, reserving $500 million for related projects.