Priya PatelTLDR:
- A new Cyber Entrepreneurship Center and Security Operations Center in St. Paul, funded with $1.6 million in federal money, will provide free cybersecurity consulting and monitoring services to small businesses.
- The center, connected to Metropolitan State University, aims to help students launch cyber services companies and create a revenue-generating, high-tech industry.
Small businesses can be severely impacted by cybercrimes, with a single attack potentially causing them to go out of business. To address this issue, a new Cyber Entrepreneurship Center and Security Operations Center is being established in St. Paul, funded with $1.6 million in federal money. This center, connected to Metropolitan State University, will offer free cybersecurity consulting and monitoring services to small businesses in an effort to protect them from cyber threats.
Over the past year and a half, more than 300 organizations in Minnesota, mostly businesses, have been victims of cybercrimes such as extortion, computer invasion, and forgery. The center will provide hands-on experience for students studying cyber defense and computer science, allowing them to offer technical services to neighborhood businesses, schools, community organizations, and local government departments. Additionally, the center aims to help students launch their own cyber services companies, providing training and business formation support.
U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum secured the funds for the center to develop internship opportunities for students and cover operating costs. The goal is not only to provide free cybersecurity services to small businesses but also to create a revenue-generating, high-tech industry around the center, with ancillary jobs and businesses in cyber defense, data center operation, and internet service. This initiative aims to empower community members, develop cybersecurity tools and skills, and strengthen cybersecurity in the community.
By partnering with leaders from various sectors such as K-12 schools, nonprofits, government departments, and small businesses, students at the center will analyze different computer systems, detect threats, offer solutions, and provide monitoring services. The center also helps students-turned-entrepreneurs with marketing, branding, and business plan coaching, as well as financing for business formation. The long-term goal is to retain tech talent, attract investors to the cyber defense companies launched by
