American City & County – by Steve Spector
The numbers speak for themselves:
- More than 3 million cybersecurity job openings in the U.S.
- 83% of corporate boards strongly in favor of increasing the headcount for IT security positions.
- Over three-quarters of business leaders in critical industry sectors (including insurance, energy and banking) with no confidence they possess the cybersecurity talent they will need in the future.
With cybersecurity threats on the rise — there was a 72% increase in the number of data breaches worldwide in 2023 alone — most experts in the field are predicting a lack of available cybersecurity talent or simple human failure will be responsible for more than half of all cybersecurity incidents that will occur in the coming year.
Obviously, there is no simple solution to suddenly fill the pressing demand for cybersecurity talent that now exists. Technology experts do agree, however, that hands-on learning opportunities represent the best way to apply new cybersecurity skills and, in doing so, begin chipping away at the skyrocketing demand for experienced cybersecurity professionals.
With that in mind, a new training program recently introduced by the Maryland Association of Community Colleges (MACC) and Baltimore-based BCR Cyber — the Cyber Workforce Accelerator — might well serve as a national model for states and municipalities to provide today’s students with the kind of practical cybersecurity experience most employers need and want.
Leveraging a $936,000 award from Maryland’s Department of Commerce and $2 million in Congressionally Directed Spending obtained by U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, the Cyber Workforce Accelerator facilitates procurement, configuration and deployment of BCR Series 3000 Cyber Ranges for each of the state’s 16 community colleges. The funding also covers community college and server facility infrastructure upgrades, enhancements and staff training.
Ultimately, each community college will have its own cyber range with five workstations at which both new students and mid-career professionals interested in upskilling will complete about 40 hours of training for their capstone work, followed by a live cyber range experience featuring up to 10 hours of testing in simulated cyber threats.
That live experience is the real differentiator. So often, students complete four years of college but never have a chance to put their classroom learning into actual practice. Utilizing a cyber range, however, changes the game completely by providing thousands of potential cybersecurity workers with access to interactive, experiential training and simulated cyber technology.
The cyber range also enables prospective employers in both the public and private sectors to watch students as they work their way through various simulations, identifying and addressing hypothetical cyber threats as they go. For their part, students can showcase their skills and out-of-the-gate employability in front of organizations looking to add cybersecurity talent. This not only provides an opportunity for students to land a well-paid position in their field of choice, it also serves as a magnet to draw more students into an industry which desperately needs them.
To make certain the Cyber Workforce Accelerator meets the specific needs of the cybersecurity market, BCR Cyber worked with MACC to assemble a private-public consortium of more than 40 cybersecurity companies and government agencies to steer course content development and recruit entry-level employees trained at the community college cyber ranges. The consortium assures students are exposed to a curriculum that is up to date in terms of the latest industry trends, technologies and best practices. It also makes certain that students have an opportunity to achieve the industry certifications (such as CompTIA Security+, CompTIA Network+, and CompTIA A+1) that many employers demand.
Programs providing experience on a cyber range are also being implemented in several other states. With the help of a $2 million state grant, MassCyberCenter and CyberTrust Massachusetts launched a cyber range to grow and diversify the cyber workforce in state agencies and other entities harboring sensitive data. The Ohio Cyber Range Institute at the University of Cincinnati, meanwhile, is dedicating $6.5 million in state funding to renew hardware and equipment and scale its classes and exercises by 20%.
For Maryland, though, community colleges seemed to be the ideal location for implementing the Cyber Workforce Accelerator. Community colleges in the state already have a long and successful track record of forging strategic partnerships with companies, government agencies, and other industry partners to develop curriculum — many of which lead to internships and job placements for current students.
Community colleges also offer flexible learning options to accommodate both full-time students and working professionals. Online courses, satellite locations and evening schedules make cybersecurity education more accessible to a significantly wider audience and help in expanding the talent pool. And for those seeking higher education degrees in cybersecurity, many community colleges have established transfer agreements with four-year universities so learners can transfer their credits to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the industry.
Finally, because many community colleges serve a diverse student population, they are well-positioned to increase diversity in the cyber industry. This is particularly important because cybersecurity companies and government agencies have made a significant effort to recruit and hire more women and minorities.
Bottom line, the Cyber Workforce Accelerator being pioneered in Maryland could represent a viable model for numerous other states and municipalities to follow. Providing community college students with hands-on experience on the cyber range could make a serious dent in the talent gap currently being experienced by the cybersecurity industry. Just as important, basing a cyber range program in a state’s community college system could lead to more women and minorities with hands-on experience entering the cybersecurity field.
With cyber-crimes on the rise, Maryland’s community college initiative would appear to be among the most efficient and effective ways to counter the cyber challenge our nation is currently facing while ushering in the next generation of trained cybersecurity experts.
