Press Release

Gillibrand Announces Key Senate Panel Approves $4.5 Million For Network Security Research At SUNYIT

Sep 20, 2010

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense has approved $4.5 Million in the FY11 Appropriations Bill for State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) at Utica/Rome to research mobile network security concerns and develop a training program to equip a qualified cyber security workforce. This project is estimated to help save 250 existing cyber security-related jobs and create approximately 70 new jobs.

“Cybersecurity is a top priority for our national security,” Senator Gillibrand said. “These federal dollars would help SUNYIT and the Mohawk Valley to develop the technologies we need to protect our networks, our infrastructure and families across America. Devoting more attention to exploring our technological vulnerabilities and mounting an aggressive defense against cyber attacks and cyber terrorism has become a national security imperative.”

“Thanks to Senator Gillibrands leadership, SUNYIT will be able to create a real-world training facility for students, with virtualized servers and a centralized computing resource model supported by cloud computing infrastructure,” said Bjong Wolf Yeigh, President of SUNYIT. “The focus will be virtualization technology, widely considered one of the most promising paradigms for cyber infrastructure security. This will give students the experience they need to enter the high-demand workforce responsible for national cyber infrastructure security.”

This federal funding for SUNYIT would be used to identify vulnerabilities in mobile networks and help develop ways to address these concerns. This initiative will develop a Secure Computer Networking research laboratory that will double as a test bed facility for research and an undergraduate laboratory. 

Through the establishment of a state-of-the-art research laboratory and enhanced public-private partnership, this high-tech initiative has the potential to become a catalyst for continued research and development. Additionally, the presence of a strong education-industry partnership will create a sustainable, qualified cyber workforce and has the potential to attract new industries to the region.

The legislation will now head to the floor for a full vote before the Senate, then proceed to the House-Senate Conference Committee, before final passage in both chambers and then to the President to be signed into law.