Advanced Cyber Security
With the US Army standing up its Cyber Command at Fort Eisenhower (formerly Fort Gordon), located in nearby Augusta GA, this makes our region a great location for Department of Defense contractors and other cyber-related companies to locate.
With numerous Class A office facilities currently in Aiken County, a contractor could be within 15 minutes of the gates of Fort Eisenhower. Workforce development continues to develop the next generation cyber warrior at all levels of academia, from K-12 to postsecondary with Aiken Technical College and University of South Carolina Aiken.
USC Aiken is establishing itself as a cyber force, most recently partnering with a premier cybersecurity institute, SANS Technology Institute (STI) to incorporate the STI Undergraduate Certificate in Applied Cybersecurity (ACS) within the four-year accredited degree (Bachelor of Science – Applied Computer Science – Cybersecurity) offered. USC Aiken is now the only four-year partner institution with SANS Technology Institute (STI) in the world. Through their exclusive agreement with STI, the STI undergraduate certificate has been folded into their four-year cybersecurity degree as an option for students. And the university is about 40 minutes away from Fort Eisenhower, the Army’s cyber center of excellence, with whom they are working on a partnership with. There is currently a $50 million Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) research building under construction on USCA’s campus that will focus on cybersecurity and other cutting-edge STEM technologies. This will open up research opportunities and networking opportunities for students.
The South Carolina National Guard is also partnering with the USC Aiken to host their new facility, including a Readiness Center for training and logistics, and The DreamPort a classroom and testing area similar to the Georgia Cyber Center in Augusta. The Readiness Center, some 43,000 square-feet, would support training and logistics for two S.C. National Guard units. The DreamPort — similar to the Georgia Cyber Center in Augusta — would be home to classrooms, testing and training spaces, and a secure area, where more clandestine operations could take place. The DreamPort would cover 25,000 square-feet.