REDI AND CYBERSECURITY ALLIANCE PARTNERS ROLL OUT NEW CYBERSECURITY WEBSITE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
REDI AND CYBERSECURITY ALLIANCE PARTNERS ROLL OUT NEW CYBERSECURITY WEBSITE
CONTACT: Teresa McKnight
CEO of REDI
(208) 522-2014
IDAHO FALLS, ID -- (March 25, 2025) – Today, Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho (REDI), and REDI’s Cybersecurity Alliance partners, announced the rollout of a new Cyber website that outlines resources, education tools, and events to reduce cyber risks. The new website can be found at https://cyber-idaho.org
“In 2020, REDI formalized a unique partnership to strengthen research, education, and development of cybersecurity and cyber systems in Eastern Idaho. Over the years, our region has become a leader in cybersecurity solutions. Through the launch of REDI’s Cybersecurity Alliance in 2020, the focus and mission of the Alliance remains dedicated to fostering growth and development of cybersecurity industries through partnerships and shared resources based on three pillars: 1) Education, 2) Research, and 3) Industry Engagement”, states Teresa McKnight, CEO of REDI.
Based on information published by the World Economic Forum, the global cybersecurity workforce grew by 12.6% between 2022 and 2023 – a significant year-on-year climb for any industry – and this number continues to grow. But the talent gap is still far from filled. Today, four million workers in the cybersecurity industry are needed worldwide. Cybersecurity talent is the industry's main defense against a rapid rise in online attacks that are increasingly complex and unpredictable.
“In today’s digital age, it is difficult to overstate the importance of cyber security. Businesses, governments, and nonprofit organizations of all sizes rely on complex global technology supply chains, which remain susceptible to both unintentional errors in cyber-attacks. Increasing reliance on such technology means that anyone who uses a computer — to check their children’s grades, to make purchases, to check in at the doctor’s office, or to file their taxes — faces cyber risk. Understanding these threats is essential to protecting not just users and their information but the critical functions on which modern society relies,” states Dr. Sean McBride, Director of Informatics Research Institute at Idaho State University.
“Eastern Idaho has four strong institutions of higher education working to ease this shortage - offering Associate to PhD degrees in cybersecurity and other related degrees. These educational institutions also contain training labs that have emerged as innovation hubs at the intersection of education, cybersecurity, and community service. Each of their programs provides a fresh approach to addressing the critical shortage of cybersecurity professionals. The extraordinarily fast evolution of cyber attackers’ abilities is inadvertently being complemented by a growing choice of technologies – such as AI, big data and predictive analytics – that they can use to leverage their threats. There was a 72% increase in the number of data breaches worldwide in 2023. This is why companies like ours are part of REDI’s Cybersecurity Alliance. It is imperative to have a platform for both the private sector and higher education institutions to work in sync to address critical pain points facing each of our industries, and together, address the education and training to assist the public but to also address specific educational skill sets and educational tools a well-trained workforce requires to secure any organizations internal data and network systems”, states Ali Khan, Founder and CEO of MOATiT.
Eastern Idaho is also home to the lead federally funded research and development center for critical infrastructure resilience, Idaho National Laboratory’s Cybercore Integration Center. Additionally, in 2019, the Department of Justice celebrated the expansion of their campus with the completion of its new data center in Eastern Idaho, known as “Greg Wolf”, to optimize infrastructure, information, and services to allow data to be securely collected, stored, and analyzed by consolidating almost 100 data centers through DOJ.
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About Regional Economic Development for Eastern Idaho (REDI):
REDI was created in 2015 as the leading regional economic development organization covering 16 counties in Southeast and East Idaho (Eastern Idaho). The mission of REDI is to deliver economic development programs and services that foster a business-friendly environment; support business retention, expansion, and recruitment; support workforce development, education, training, and recruitment in support of unlimited career opportunities; increase entrepreneurship and research activities; and build strategic regional partnerships to enrich Eastern Idaho’s competitive position and the lives of our citizens.