STCC introduces new cybersecurity center at Springfield's Union Station

Springfield Technical Community College has a new cybersecurity center named after Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Richard Neal. The new center is located in the city's Union Station.

The more than $5 million dollar center was funded with local, state, and federal money and was unveiled Monday with many local political leaders and most of the presidents from community colleges in the region in attendence.

Neal said having programs that will begin teaching young people how to protect themselves, organizations, and local governments from cybersecurity threats will be a major safety advantage for the country.

"Generationally, there's not a lot of training that people have had. So, I think that this will augment personal security as well as national security,” he said. “I think that this is a chance for all of us to stand shoulder to shoulder in opposition to the scammers and the extortionists."

More than 400 STCC students are currently enrolled in the program.

The CEO of Cybertrust Massachusetts, Peter Sherlock, said cyber workforce jobs are in high demand right now, so this program will help expand nonprofits and businesses in the industry.

“This is something now of great interest to cyber employers statewide. They see a real pipeline,” Sherlock said. “And these folks are coming from a lot of different places than where these employers have been hiring in the past. So we've been up to speed on our cyber ranges across all these schools.”