State lays groundwork for cyber ecosystem
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South Carolina expects to need 6,000 new cybersecurity workers over the next 10 years.
South Carolina is investing in cybersecurity with an executive order that formalizes the state’s Cybersecurity Ecosystem Coordination Initiative, a program aimed at increasing the state's cyber resources, encouraging cyber businesses and creating higher paying technology-focused jobs.
The impetus for the order was the 2021 South Carolina Cybersecurity Ecosystem Study that was designed to analyze the state’s ability to compete with nearby states for cyber business. One of the challenges the study identified is that South Carolina’s anticipated economic growth will require 6,000 new cybersecurity workers over the next 10 years.
Speaking at a Sept. 9 press conference, Brian Shea, a principal at Simon Everett, a consulting firm that produced the study in partnership with the Department of Commerce and the University of South Carolina, said the number of cybersecurity analysts in the state compared with the size of the workforce is below the national average. Ramping up the number of cybersecurity workers is critical, not just to meet future business demands but also because cybersecurity workers earn between 34% and 240% more than the median wage and the average unemployment rate for cyber jobs is one-third less than the state average.
When it comes to cybersecurity awareness, the study found that although South Carolina has two cybersecurity-focused agencies -- the Department of Administration, which provides guidance to state agencies, and the South Carolina Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Program within the state's law enforcement division – those units primarily work with the state's critical infrastructure operators. According to business leaders interviewed for the report, the state is lacking similar services for the business community.
The order authorizes South Carolina’s Commerce Department to lead development of the state’s cybersecurity ecosystem and calls for a roadmap that includes “assessing and expanding South Carolina’s cyber-related workforce and economic development activities and enhancing the competitive standing of South Carolina’s cybersecurity ecosystem and cyber-related sector relative to other States.”
“Cybersecurity and staying ahead of digital threats plays an integral role in ensuring the success of industries across the board,” said Deputy Commerce Secretary Ashely Teasdel. “A robust cyber ecosystem will help ensure South Carolina has the talent and the resources that we need to lead the way.”