Rounds, DSU President Visit NSA and U.S. Cyber Command

U.S. Senator Mike Rounds, a ranking member of the Senate Armed Service Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, facilitated a meeting between leadership at Dakota State University in Madison and leadership at the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade in Maryland.

Along with Senator Rounds, others attending included DSU President Dr. José-Marie Griffiths, DSU Applied Research Lab Director Dr. Josh Pauli and Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service.

Rounds said that cybersecurity is more important than ever as we face increasing cyber attacks on critical infrastructure.  He said that DSU is working diligently to train students to address the cybersecurity workforce shortage.

DSU President Griffiths said it was a privilege to visit the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command.  She said the work of NSA and U.S. Cyber Command “have never been more important to the security of this nation than they are now”. 

According to CyberSeek, a project supported by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. has a total employed cybersecurity workforce consisting of 715-thousand people. There are currently 314-thousand unfilled positions.