The University of South Carolina announced the creation of “SC Cyber,” a consortium of business, academic, and government partners that will train businesses how to beef up cybersecurity and fight cyber crime.
University of South Carolina President Harris Pastides said the newly created SC Cyber consortium will educate students, government officials and businesses on cybersecurity skills that will create and attract jobs in the growing technology industry to the state.
“SC Cyber will provide something we don’t do well enough in South Carolina or anywhere in the United States and that’s to link technology with better policy and law,” Pastides said. “Our nation will be better prepared to address threats of today and those we can’t foresee tomorrow.”
The effort should prepare more students to go into cyberseccurity, where there are already an estimated 2,300 open jobs in South Carolina, in a field that’s grown by more than 130 percent since 2010.
Large and small technology companies IBM and Wave Science are partnering with USC along with USC Aiken, the College of Charleston, The Citadel, and state technical colleges. Business owners, executives and government workers will also be able to train on combating cyber threats alongside students when courses start this summer.
USC allocated $2 million for the program in its budget request.
