New nonprofit committed to growing and diversifying cyber workforce, while providing cyber security services to local governments.
For immediate release: February 22, 2023
Contact: laura@cybertrustmass.org
BOSTON — Today CyberTrust Massachusetts announced that it is welcoming founding members to its newly-launched consortium of statewide higher education institutions and corporate members, including: Rapid7, Bridgewater State University, Springfield Technical Community College, and Cambridge College. The group seeks to address the divide as the cybersecurity sector is a vital part of the regional economy but needs a stronger pipeline of skilled and diverse workers to continue to thrive.
CyberTrust was founded as a nonprofit to simultaneously address both the workforce and the local cybersecurity shortfalls. Leveraging state and federal startup funding, with seed funding through the Mass Cyber Center at MassTech Collaborative, CyberTrust enhances cyber education programs with hands-on experiential learning—using a state-of-the-art cyber range and placing students in a live security operations center (SOC) that will serve local governments, nonprofits and small businesses.
In its most recent data on Massachusetts, cyber industry workforce tracker CyberSeek estimates a shortfall of 20,000 cyber workers statewide, which represents one third of the overall demand. In some sectors, such as financial services, that shortfall is almost half of the total demand. While the Commonwealth grapples with this shortfall, cyberattacks continue to escalate, leaving many local governments, nonprofits, and small businesses under-resourced to defend against these growing threats.
The CyberTrust Consortium—Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts
To collaborate on its ambitious agenda, CyberTrust is growing a consortium of committed companies and institutes of higher education —anchored in community colleges and state universities, where programs may reach underrepresented groups and create pipelines of diverse talent.
According to CyberTrust Massachusetts CEO, Peter Sherlock, “This consortium provides a unique opportunity for member companies to work collectively to create systemic change in the workforce, and for member colleges to enhance and accelerate their programs with advanced technology and corporate partnerships. We are excited to welcome our founding college members Bridgewater State University and Springfield Technical Community College, who will operate SOCs, along with Cambridge College and founding corporate member Rapid7.”
Rapid7 Chairman & CEO, Corey Thomas said: “As a leader in the Massachusetts cyber community, and with a strong focus on workforce diversity efforts, we believe in the self-sustaining ecosystem that CyberTrust is enabling—especially the real-world experience for future employees that it provides and its ability to reach underrepresented groups. We are proud to be a founding corporate member.”
“As a center of excellence in cybersecurity, Bridgewater State is a proud member of CyberTrust Massachusetts,” stated Frederick W. Clark, Jr., President of Bridgewater State University. “We look forward to our continuing collaboration with CyberTrust in growing the talent pipeline in this critical, emerging sector and in helping protect municipalities, other government entities, nonprofits and small businesses against a growing array of cyber threats.”
Springfield Technical Community College (STCC) will lead the Western Mass. Cyber Center of Excellence, which will host a cyber range and SOC facilities at Springfield Union Station and serve as the center of collaboration for Western Massachusetts colleges. Shared by Dr. John B. Cook, President of STCC: “We are thrilled that CyberTrust is providing leadership for this essential consortium, and we will continue to support the drive toward sustainability and innovation in our collective workforce development efforts.”
Cambridge College is aligned with the mission of CyberTrust, particularly recruiting and retaining diverse talent across Massachusetts. “Through the integration of meaningful hands-on learning experiences, we seek to inspire high school students through our Emerging Tech Academy as well as college students enrolled in our cybersecurity degree and certificate programs designed by industry experts,” said President Deborah C. Jackson. “The partnership with CyberTrust will bring substantial benefits to the faculty and students of Cambridge College’s cybersecurity program.”
###
ABOUT CYBERTRUST MASSACHUSETTS
CyberTrust was established as a nonprofit company to provide a platform that would encourage the region’s employers to support and sustain their mission. Leveraging a world-class cybersecurity ecosystem, the CyberTrust consortium is a unique collaboration across government, business and academic entities.