October 15, 2019

Texas Comptroller Visits Texas A&M University for Good for Texas Tour: Cybersecurity Edition

(COLLEGE STATION) — On the southeast Texas stop of his Good for Texas Tour: Cybersecurity Edition, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar visited Texas A&M University, home to three respected cybersecurity education and research organizations.

“Texas A&M’s commitment to the development of world-class cybersecurity programs has placed it at the forefront of cybersecurity research and workforce development,” Hegar said. “By advancing cyber defense and research; recruiting internationally renowned faculty; and collaborating with high schools, veterans’ programs and two-year colleges throughout the state, Texas A&M is sharpening the tools and technologies needed to face global security challenges.”

During his Good for Texas Tour: Cybersecurity Edition, Hegar is sharing the results of a new Comptroller study detailing the threat cybercrimes pose to national, corporate and personal security. The study also explores how Texas colleges and universities are helping train a strong cybersecurity workforce to combat these ever-growing threats. He’s touring a handful of Texas colleges and universities designated as a Center for Academic Excellence (CAE) by the National Security Agency (NSA).

Texas A&M is one of several colleges and universities in the nation designated as a CAE in all three NSA focus areas: cyber operations, cyber defense and research. Texas A&M is home to the Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station, the Center for Nuclear Security Science and Policy Initiatives and the Texas A&M Cybersecurity Center. More than 100 Texas A&M faculty members are engaged in groundbreaking cybersecurity research, producing publications that have garnered thousands of citations.

This year, Texas A&M received a U.S. Department of Energy grant of up to $28 million to develop technologies protecting the nation’s energy infrastructures against cyberattacks. In August, the Texas A&M University System assisted the Texas Department of Information Resources and the Texas Division of Emergency Management in responding to a coordinated ransomware attack on 22 Texas local government agencies.

Texas A&M’s cybersecurity graduates are highly recruited and quickly employed, earning average starting salaries of more than $70,000 annually; 90 percent of its students have jobs upon graduation. Military Times included Texas A&M’s cybersecurity program on its most recent list of the 10 best cybersecurity programs for military veterans and military-connected students.

For more information on the tour, including additional details about Texas A&M's effort to combat cybercrime, go to the Comptroller's website.