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New Manufacturing Hub to Ensure “Cybersecurity Preparedness” for 1 Million Workers by 2026
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With cybersecurity at the forefront of concerns among manufacturers of all types, a key industry solutions provider is about to establish a new training hub in South Texas.
The Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII) announced Feb. 1 that it plans to form the Texas Manufacturing x Transformation Hub, or TxMx Hub, in a new facility at the Port San Antonio innovation campus.
The state-funded, $5 million, 14,500-square-foot facility will address important federal cybersecurity certifications for manufacturers in critical U.S. sectors. The institute said the hub aims to ensure the cybersecurity preparedness of 1 million manufacturing workers by 2026.
CyManII — under the direction of the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) — said the Port greenlit a deal that will allow the institute to use the facility rent-free for up to 18 years.
The institute said the hub will boost manufacturing in the Lone Star State by helping firms meet fast-evolving cybersecurity requirements and presenting small to mid-sized companies with research and development projects. Those firms will be trained to use the institute’s secure manufacturing framework in their day-to-day operations.
“Through CyManII, we are evolving, elevating, and transforming digital manufacturing in the U.S.,” UTSA President Taylor Eighmy said in a news release. “At the same time, because we’re doing this work in San Antonio, we’re contributing to the creation of a highly diverse workforce to protect the nation’s critical infrastructure. That mission is very important to our university and to our city.”
Founded in 2019, the institute noted that the San Antonio area hosts the largest concentration of U.S. cybersecurity operations outside of Washington, D.C.
A Nov. 2020 survey conducted by cybersecurity software provider Trend Micro found that among 500 information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) departments at large manufacturing companies, 61% said their company had experienced a critical cybersecurity incident in its history. Of that portion, 43% said the incident forced a production shutdown of at least four days.
Image Credit: Gorodenkoff / Shutterstock.com
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