Cyber's Big Business

For Maryland, cybersecurity pays. The state's governor, Martin O'Malley, wrote on Monday in a commentary appearing in the Washington Post's business publication, Capital Business, "Maryland is better positioned than other states to recover from the national recession stronger and sooner."

One reason: the business of cybersecurity, he said. O'Malley cited the Defense Department's decision to locate its Cyber Command, and the 21,000 jobs that go with it, in the state.

And in November 2009, Lockheed Martin opened its NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center in Gaithersburg, Md., amid lots of speeches from politicos and business people.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was there at the dedication. "I am so proud that more than ever before, Maryland truly is home to America's cybersecurity efforts," she said, according to a Washington Business Journal article.

With the federal government poised to spend multibillions of dollars on cybersecurity, expect more pronouncements.