SAN DIEGO, CA – San Diego State University, along with the Center for Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), California State University San Marcos (CSUSM) and National University, has been selected to receive a $1 million grant and support from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund to establish one of these spaces in San Diego.
The funding from Google.org, the company’s philanthropic arm, is part of a $25 million collaboration with the Cybersecurity Clinics Consortium.
Cybersecurity clinics at institutions of higher education provide free digital security services to under-resourced organizations, similar to how law or medical schools offer free community clinics.
The new San Diego Cyber Clinic will give SDSU, CSUSM and National University students the opportunity to learn cybersecurity and AI skills in an effective, hands-on manner, while helping to protect vulnerable organizations and critical infrastructure, such as local small businesses, hospitals, schools and energy grids, from cyberattacks.
“This new partnership, made possible by Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund, will undoubtedly strengthen our regional cybersecurity infrastructure and create new hands-on educational opportunities for our students in this rapidly growing and in-demand industry,” said James Frazee, SDSU’s interim chief information officer and vice president for Information Technology.
The announcement adds to SDSU’s cybersecurity efforts on a regional scale. Earlier this year, SDSU announced the Technology Infrastructure for Data Exploration (TIDE) project, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, which will enhance high-performance computing capabilities and increase access to advanced computing for faculty and student researchers across the California State University system.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks 2024 Report, cybersecurity remains one of the top 10 global risks over the next 10 years. Currently, there are nearly 450,000 open cybersecurity jobs in the U.S., 37,667 of them in California and 5,092 in the San Diego region, and demand for cyber professionals is projected to grow by 32% between now and 2033. To ensure the safety of communities, critical infrastructure and businesses, both large and small, across the United States, there is a clear need for a skilled, diverse and expert cybersecurity workforce.
“The San Diego Cyber Clinic, run by the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), CSUSM, National University and SDSU, is honored to receive the Google Cybersecurity Clinic Fund. Our clinic will provide students with hands-on training and cyber career paths, while supporting small businesses and under-resourced organizations to help develop an inclusive cyber workforce and create a safer digital community for all,” said Lisa Easterly, president and CEO of CCOE.
The San Diego Cyber Clinic is a unique collaboration between the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), CSUSM, National University and SDSU.
“The world is at a time when emerging technologies, such as AI, are creating both new opportunities and threats in the world of cybersecurity.
It is essential that we invest in growing a strong, diverse and widespread cybersecurity workforce to help protect everyone from critical infrastructure to small businesses to schools. The 15 clinics we are helping to establish serve a wide variety of students in all corners of the U.S. and we are excited to see the impact they will have on their local communities,” said Heather Adkins, vice president of Security Engineering at Google.
With the latest round of funding, Google.org has committed more than $25 million to build the diverse and skilled workforce in artificial intelligence and digital security needed to protect America’s critical infrastructure from cyberattacks.
