New Cybersecurity Initiatives Come to Severn's Backyard

Severn and the surrounding area took another step towards establishing itself at the center of the nation’s cybersecurity efforts, thanks to the grand opening of TeleCommunication Systems’ (TCS) newest location in Hanover.

Several key figures in Maryland’s explosion as one of the capitals of cybersecurity were on hand Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the opening, including Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) and Christian Johansson, the state’s secretary of business and economic development.

Located at the Baltimore Commons Business Park in Hanover, the newest location for TCS will be home to the company’s Cyber Intelligence Center and Art of Exploitation University.

As computers become an increasingly prevalent risk to the nation’s security, more jobs will arrive that will need competent and skilled workers, said Maurice Tosé, chairman and CEO of TCS, speaking to those in attendance Wednesday.

“There’s hardly a day goes by without a news story about a breach in cybersecurity, whether in government or the business community,” Tosé said.

That’s exactly where TCS comes in, he said.

The company’s Art of Exploitation University will seek to train individuals in defense, cryptology, penetration testing, engineering and computer exploitation. The goal is to provide hands-on and innovative training for future cyberdefense specialists, Tosé said.

The Cyber Intelligence Center in Hanover will house more than 100 trainees and workers, according to Ruppersberger, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Intelligence Committee.

Cyber attacks are “a serious threat,” Ruppersberger said. “We’re being attacked as we speak. We talk about terrorism and how we got bin Laden, but cybersecurity is extremely serious because of what can happen.”

He explained that one hacked computer could lead to a breach in one of the nation’s largest private banks, ultimately destabilizing significant parts of the U.S. economy.

Johansson described Maryland as not just leading the nation in cybersecurity, but leading the world, too.

Both Johansson and Ruppersberger—one of the earliest advocates in the country for cybersecurity jobs and training—expressed their excitement about what effect the new TCS location can have on the surrounding area.

“We are where it is and we’re going to keep going ahead,” Ruppersberger said. “We will like to call ourselves the Silicon Valley of the east.”

New strategies and innovations like the TCS Art of Exploitation University are bringing the fight against cyber attacks to the front door of Severn and Hanover residents, a movement that has its ups and downs, said Ruppersberger.

“We’ve talked about jobs, high paying jobs, and all the technology, but you also have families,” he said. “Part of our role as elected officials is, when we have growth, to make sure we provide for those quality of life issues. To make sure we have good schools, have recreation, to make sure we deal with the traffic issue. That’s the challenge, and we have to do it.”

Traffic is one of Ruppersberger’s largest concerns. There will be a need for infrastructure as new companies establish themselves in towns such as Severn and Hanover, he said.

The congressman said the recent agreement between the county and a private business owner to widen Route 175 won’t be the sole solution.

“The focus needs to be on mass transit services,” he said. “Widening the roads doesn’t get the job done by itself.”