“My husband and I believe that funding a cybersecurity lecture series will be a unique way to promote Hood as it moves forward with the master’s program in this field,” said Janet. “It will give students a more in-depth understanding of the climate surrounding cybersecurity problems in the world. Members of the Washington, Baltimore and Frederick communities will be encouraged to participate and become more aware of the issues our society faces today.”
The first lecture, slated for 7 p.m. in Hodson Auditorium in Rosenstock Hall, will feature retired four-star general Keith Alexander and mark the official launch of Hood’s Cybersecurity Master’s Program. The importance of establishing a new cybersecurity program is especially emphasized in this time of “the global cybercrime epidemic”, predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021 and creating an unprecedented shortage of cybersecurity workers, according to Cybersecurity Business Report.
More specifically, a shortage of 3.5 million cybersecurity workers is being predicted by 2021, with a cybersecurity unemployment rate of 0 percent (zero!) in 2016. This astonishing figure is predicted to stay constant till 2021, as there are currently two job openings for every one qualified professional. This lack of cybersecurity talent is obvious in both the US and abroad. The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) recently predicted that India alone will require one million cybersecurity experts due to its expanding economy. Despite having the largest IT talent pool in the world, it is highly unlikely that India will be able to produce an adequate number of professionals to meet the demand.
Upper level management positions related to this field are also in a pattern of steady growth. Approximately 65 percent of large U.S. companies have a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) position, up from 50 percent in 2016, according to ISACA, an independent, nonprofit, global association. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that all large companies in the world will have a CISO position by 2021. With all these astonishing predictions and numbers being generated in the last several years, the Hood Graduate School is proud to continue its leadership in the field with the establishment of the new Cybersecurity Masters of Science Program.
