Page 51 - BusinessWest November 28, 2022

STCC’s Mary Kaselouskas tours the future site of the SOC and cyber range with U.S. Rep. Richard Neal and other stakeholders.
Defense Mechanism
New Cybersecurity Project at Union Station Could Have Broad Impact
By Joseph Bednar
y now, Mary Kaselouskas says, the vast majority of people understand the importance of cybersecurity.
“Everyone is fully aware of the threats out there, how people become victims of cybercrime and the impact on an organization that’s
involved in a breach,” said Kaselouskas, vice presi- dent ands chief information officer at Springfield Technical Community College (STCC).
What they might not know, she added, is the criti- cal shortage in the cybersecurity workforce, with an estimated 20,000 more professionals needed in Mas- sachusetts alone, not to mention about 1 million in the U.S. and 3 million around the world.
That’s why she, and other officials at STCC, around the state, and across the region’s IT sector are cel- ebrating a new initiative to promote the develop- ment of a diverse cybersecurity workforce locally, with the goal of improving cyber resiliency in the Commonwealth.
U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, state and academic officials, and IT industry leaders were on hand at Union Station in Springfield on Oct. 31 to announce $1,462,995 in state funding will allow STCC to estab- lish a security operation center, or SOC, at Union Station that will provide threat monitoring and other cybersecurity services for Commonwealth munici- palities and small business and nonprofit customers. The funds will also establish a cyber range, a new testing lab to mirror real-world IT environments to provide hands-on training opportunities to local companies, universities, and other cyber-focused organizations.
“I have been involved with this for quite a while, and a steering committee was established many years ago, looking at how to address a shortage of cyberse- curity workers in Springfield and the Pioneer Valley,” Kaselouskas said, noting that partners on the project include the Springfield Redevelopment Authority,
a new entity called CyberTrust Massachusetts, the MassCyberCenter, and local colleges and universities, among others.
As the grant recipient, STCC will staff and oper-
“
is fully aware
of the threats out there, how people become victims of cybercrime and the impact on an organization that’s involved in a breach.
Technology
Everyone
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