STC Cybersecurity program receives $467k grant for first clinic

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The South Texas College Cybersecurity program has received a $467,000 Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation, which will help create the Rio Grande Valley's first Cybersecurity clinic.

The project will span three years, and students with knowledge of cybersecurity will provide free services to the community. Some of the services offered are risk assessments, incident response planning, and cybersecurity awareness training, according to Assistant Professor of the computer science department at STC, Nicholas Hinojosa.

Hinojosa says the clinic will be used to help local organizations, small businesses, and will mainly focus on organizations that need resources.

"It will help the community because cyber criminals are looking at small businesses right now, local organizations, because they see them as low-hanging fruit, right? So the better that they can defend themselves, the less likely they they'll be hit with a cyber attack," Hinojosa said.

The assistant professor also adds that the clinic's three goals are the following:

• Increase the number of cybersecurity professionals in the state and nationwide.
• Boost the defense of small businesses and local organizations against cyber attacks.
• Improve technical education through the clinic and promote the cyber clinic model.

Any small businesses that are interested in getting assistance with cybersecurity are asked to reach out via email at Nhinojosa@southtexascollege.edu or call (956) 872-3445.