SOTU and What We’ve Done in Maryland – Part III

When the President delivered his State of the Union this week, he demonstrated bold leadership on finding new and innovative ways to cut waste, increase efficiencies, improve education — from Pre-School to higher education — and create jobs.  The vision the President laid out will move our nation forward. Here in Maryland, we are already working towards stronger families, stronger communities, and a stronger America.

Creating Jobs and Protecting our Infrastructure through Cybersecurity

Here’s what President Obama said:

“America must also face the rapidly growing threat from cyber-attacks. We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy.”

And here’s what we’re doing and have done in Maryland:

As our adversaries grow ever more technologically advanced and motivated to wreak havoc, cybersecurity is becoming an increasingly urgent issue facing our country. As governor, as co-Chair of the National Governors Association’s Special Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, and as a member of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, I’m focused on ensuring that we’re doing all we can—as a state and as a nation—to make our defenses are as robust as they can possibly be. But while the threat of a cyber attack poses immense challenges, it also creates opportunities for innovation, entrepreneurship, job creation, and economic growth.

We need to leverage our advantages to maximize job growth. Maryland is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s #1 State for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. We’re the #1 state for R&D, the #1 state for human capital capacity, the #1 state for PhD engineers and scientists per capita, and Education Week magazine says we’re #1 for education. With these assets, no state is better positioned than ours to create jobs through innovation. Cybersecurity is one sector in particular where we have distinct competitive advantages.

Our cyber sector is already doing well; Maryland’s cybersecurity industry is already booming. It employs more than 130,000 Marylanders at more than 11,000 businesses generating $11.88 billion in annual wagers. In 2011, workers in the industry earned an average of $91,360.  But we’re always pushing to do more. Here are some of the initiatives we’ve been working on:

(1.) Launched CyberMaryland

• Three years ago, we brought together federal, state and local government; private businesses; academia; and other stakeholders to address challenges to the security of the nation’s digital infrastructure, reinforce Maryland’s leadership in cybersecurity and information technology, and support the nation’s cybersecurity mission while maximizing the benefits to and opportunities for Maryland.

(2.) Established National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence at NIST

• In February 2012, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the State of Maryland and Montgomery County signed a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, the first Center in the nation, to bring together cybersecurity experts from industry, academia and government to create solutions together.

(3.) Created the InvestMaryland Program

• Through this innovative program, Maryland raised $84 million to invest in early stage technologies, including in the cybersecurity realm, to grow and create jobs in Maryland.

(4.) Targeting a new Cybersecurity Investment Incentive Tax Credit

• This year, we’re proposing a new Cybersecurity Investment Incentive Tax Credit to stimulate private investment in early stage cybersecurity technology businesses in Maryland. This tax credit is modeled on the highly successful Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit.

To learn more about how we’re creating jobs by strengthening CyberMaryland, click here.

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