National security and anti-terrorism experts agree: nowhere is the United States more vulnerable to terrorist attack than in its technological infrastructure. In the 10 years since 9/11, exponentially tightened security measures have changed the way we work, travel, and even shop. But we remain at high risk for what former National Security Council adviser Richard Clarke calls a “digital Pearl Harbor” – and its attendant economic consequences.

In 2010, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley announced an initiative to make Maryland the “epicenter” of the growing field of cyber security. In “Making Maryland the ‘Epicenter’ of Computer Science Online Learning,” released today by the Maryland Public Policy Institute, senior fellow Dan Lips offers a vision for a “Maryland Cyber Security Academy,” an online learning program that would provide Marylanders with the opportunity to study computer science and develop expertise for careers in cyber security.

“Creating an innovative Maryland Cyber Security Academy will provide a range of benefits for the state and the country,” writes Lips. “For Maryland families, the Academy will provide students and adults with the opportunity to acquire skills in high demand in the 21st century. For the nation, the Maryland Cyber Security Academy could provide leadership for the nation, ensuring that American students acquire the necessary training and skills to meet the cyber security challenges of the future.”

Lips notes that Maryland has an historic opportunity to become the first state in the nation to offer online cyber security education – an important first step toward the O’Malley administration’s expressed goal of making Maryland a leader in cyber security. To that end, Lips calls for lawmakers in Annapolis to convene a task force to develop the Cyber Academy.

“We’ve learned a lot about thwarting terror attacks in the years since 9/11,” said Maryland Public Policy Institute president Christopher Summers. “We’ve secured cockpit doors and we take off our shoes at the airport, but we remain unacceptably vulnerable to a potentially crippling cyber attack. Creating a cyber security academy here in Maryland offers the rarest of opportunities: a true win-win. Both Maryland and our nation would be well-served.”

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