Washington Report: Representative Johnson

Washington Report: Leading the Charge

StateUniversity(DSU). ByRep.DustyJohnson

When you read “Nationally Recognized by the National SecurityAgency(NSA)and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ” do you think of South Dakota? Well, you should. In Madison, South Dakota, you ’ll find one of the nation’s top-ranked cybersecurity programs within the walls of Dakota

South Dakota is blessed with several top-tier universities, butDSUisunique.DakotaStatecurrentlyhasthreeCenters of Academic Excellence designations from the NSA and DHS and is one of eight resource centers for the NSA. We live in an ever-growing digital world, with that comes cybersecurityrisksandaneedforindividualswiththeskills toprotectourtechnology.DSUandtheNSAhavepartnered together to streamline military personnel’s ability to obtain a degree in the cyber arena. Senator Rounds and I also introduced legislation to make it easier for the Department of Defense to partner with universities on complex cybersecurity issues. Demand for cybersecurity expertise continuestogrowandby2021theremaybeasmanyas3.5 million cybersecurity job openings – we need to be preparingpeopleforthesejobsassoonaspossible.

DSUcontinuestoinvestandleadthechargeinensuringthat our nation’s and our government’s technology is secure. ThisweekIhadtheopportunitytoattendthegrandopening of the Madison Cyber Labs or “MadLabs. ” MadLabs is a state-of-the-art,38,500squarefootfacilitywiththecapacity to host nearly 300 researchers. It will also have a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility or SCIF to conduct classified research, and DSU is already working to secure contracts with the NSA to conduct research at the new facility.

Many universities throughout the country are seeing a decline in enrollment, but Dakota State isn’t tracking with the norm. DSU reported increased enrollment in 2019 and welcomed their largest freshman class this year. The investment in MadLabs and DSU’s continued innovation willcontinuetoencouragethistrend.

South Dakota’s state leaders and generous donors worked hardtoensurethedreamofMadLabsbecameareality—and because of this effort, South Dakota will educate some of the world’s best and brightest who will go on to be leaders in government, military, and the private security sector. Because of the excellent leadership of DSU President Griffiths and the support of several of our state’s past and present leadership, DSU has excelled as an institution. I lookforwardtocontinuingtowatchDakotaStateUniversity anditsstudentsleadournationincybersecurity.