Making Maryland a hub for cyber security jobs

When most people think about Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay, Blue Crabs and the best public schools in the nation come to mind. Governor Martin O'Malley is committed to adding cyber security to that list.

In an opinion piece in Monday's Baltimore Sun, Governor O'Malley pledged to continue and strengthen Maryland's cyber security industry, thereby better securing networks, protecting crucial information, and creating thousands of new jobs.

O'Malley used the recent cyber attack on Google to highlight the seriousness of the issue - how consumer information, business records, and classified documents can be vulnerable if proper safeguards are not in place:

"In an era where our economy, our infrastructure and the well-being of our families are so interconnected and dependent upon computers and cyberspace, one of our top priorities must be cyber security. In Maryland, we are addressing this challenge head-on."

Our state certainly has a lot to protect: the tech industry is one of Maryland's greatest economic assets, with more than 250,000 Marylanders working in the technology field. In the midst of a recession, the Maryland tech sector saw 7.2 percent job growth in one year - the fastest in the nation. In addition, thanks to the Governor's leadership, the military's U.S. Cyber Command will be established in Maryland - creating 10,000 to 15,000 new jobs.

That makes this renewed commitment to cyber security evermore crucial. "We - government, the private sector and industry -- must work together at every level to ensure the security of our digital infrastructure now and in the future," wrote O'Malley.

However, it's not all about the technology itself - education is an essential component of the Governor's cyber security policy. "We must ensure that our citizens - the college student doing homework on a laptop computer in a dorm, the online shopper, the small business owner managing inventory online, or the CEO overseeing a multibillion-dollar corporation - are aware, informed and educated about the risks inherent in a global online community."

Says O'Malley: "Maryland is answering President Obama's call to action to not only ensure the security of our digital infrastructure now, and in the future, but to also ensure economic prosperity with thousands of new cyber security posts."

You can read the piece in full here.