Can Baltimore County Compete With Silicon Valley at Cybersecurity?

Baltimore County’s government believes the region is the cybersecurity center of the world.

At its heart is bwtech@UMBC, a cyber incubator on a 71-acre campus adjacent to the University of Maryland’s Baltimore County campus—consistently ranked among the top five “Most Innovative Schools” nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

Not just for startups, the incubator is a place for established companies to attract talent and expand and visiting companies to network that works closely with the county’s Department of Economic and Workforce Development and hosts a Government Contracting Institute.

“The 15-mile radius around Baltimore city, particularly in the county, is a hotbed of workforce and talent, economic development, startups and entrepreneurship, early stage equity funding, and great companies that are growing and exiting in the cybersecurity and info space,” says Michael Binko, Startup Maryland founder and CEO, in thisrecently uploaded YouTube video.

Information and cybersecurity risks and mitigation strategies are one of the research and technology park’s focus areas, along with clean energy and life sciences.

From the promo video, it’s clear that the county wants its cybersecurity companies competing with those on the West Coast. And it doesn’t fail to mention another selling point, the incubator’s convenient location minutes from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.

“The reason that we like Maryland and this region in general is because of all the cybersecurity talent here,” says Zuly Gonzalez, founder and CEO of Light Point Security at bwtech@UMBC. “You know, you’ve got government installations, lots of universities in this area.”

Dave Nyczepir is News Editor for Government Executive’s Route Fifty.