City eyes cyberdefense as economy booster
THE BIG APPLE wants to take a byte out of cyber crime.
The city’s Economic Development Corp. will announce on Thursday that it aims to turn New York into the cybersecurity capital of the world by creating a tech hub that will attract industry leaders and academics in the fastgrowing field.
The city will release a request for proposals to create a cybercenter that will serve as a workspace for startups and research firms hoping to fine-tune their tools for defending against hacks.
The growing number of highprofile cyber attacks — including the Russian theft of thousands of emails as it tried to influence the 2016 presidential election — prompted the city to identify cybersecurity as a rapidly growing industry that could create thousands of jobs.
“In a lot of ways, we see some of the biggest challenges of today being the biggest jobs of tomorrow,” said James Patchett, president of the EDC. “It’s very much true that risks are opportunities.”
Patchett said that the city is the perfect location for cybersecurity firms since it comes with a builtin customer base. The leading industries in the city are financial services, health care and the media — all l three of f which have e made protect- ing data a top p priority.
The cybercenter would act as a hub for startups and researchers to develop their products. The city would also work to bring prospective clients and investors to the hub for companies to showcase their services.
No location for the center has been identified, but city officials said it would make sense for it to be near business centers like the Flatiron District and lower Manhattan.
The city has committed $30 million to the initiative — which aims to create 10,000 jobs. Patchett said that creating t those jobs m means s strengthe ening the c city’s h homeg grown tale ent, particu ularly by p partnerin ing with l lo local univ versities.
He not- ed that the University of Maryland has 8,000 people enrolled in its cybersecurity programs.
The city’s universities only have a fraction of those students concentrating in that field. The biggest cybersecurity program is at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which has 550 students enrolled.
As part of the initiatives it’s unveiling, the city wants to work with local universities to create programs that are tailored to what the industry and its employers seek in job candidates.
The EDC’s request for proposals also seeks to create a boot camp where people can break into the cybersecurity field without necessarily having a college degree.
“In a lot of ways, they are a form of new blue-collar jobs,” Patchett said. “(The initiative) has an opportunity to create very successful jobs and pay high-quality wages.”