The center of the giant screen displayed a series of rapidly advancing digits, labeled as the number of cyber attacks so far that day. The number was greater than 6 million — and rapidly climbing.
“Is that real? Are there really that many attacks?” asked state Rep. Carlos Gonzalez, D-Springfield, as he joined officials including U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, and Mayor Domenic J. Sarno for a tour Monday of the newly opened center.
Yes, the screen represents a real-time picture of ongoing cyber attacks, hacks, cyber crimes and security breaches the world over, said Mary Kaselouskas, vice president and chief information officer for Springfield Technical Community College, which runs the center, located in Springfield’s Union Station.
College officials asked that no one, including the media, photograph the SOC. But photos of the classroom-like “cyber ranges” down the hall, a large conference room and areas there students can hang out and study were fine. Monday brought the center’s official dedication.
Classes start Tuesday.
“We’ll be in the classroom at 8 o’clock,” said Gene Kingsley, the cyber range manager.
The cyber range is a practice area, like a firing range for police. The SOC is real life, staffed by student interns and equipped to help governments and, soon, local businesses and nonprofits protect themselves against cyber threats.
“I think this will augment personal security as well as national security,” Neal told reporters after the tour. “We have had incidents in the Pioneer Valley, people have paid ransom,” he said. “Local governments have paid ransoms.”
The center carries his name, as the Congressman Richard E. Neal Cybersecurity Center for Excellence.
The need for cybersecurity and for trained cybersecurity professionals is apparent to anyone who has suffered a hack or gotten notice from a retailer that an account has been compromised, said Kaselouskas.
But the threats don’t stop there.
“The Department of Homeland Security, CIA and FBI have already said that Russia, Iran and China, in that order, are going to attempt to interfere in our elections,” she said.
Springfield Technical Community College has about 50 students at the center and 400 enrolled in the program in total, with Bay Path University, Elms College and Western New England University also part of the center and more schools looking to send students as well.
The FBI and the Massachusetts State police will also be involved, said STCC President John Cook.
Col. Gregory D. Buchanan, commander of the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, said the cybersecurity training center is a great opportunity for military-civilian partnerships.
There are more than 750,000 unfilled cybersecurity positions nationally, according to the MassCyberCenter at the MassTech Collaborative. That includes 20,000 open jobs in Massachusetts.
The project was funded with $3 million in Congressional earmarks, $1.46 million from the state and $500,000 in pandemic recovery money from the city.
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