Through a multimillion dollar investment from the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Commonwealth Cyber Initiatives seeks to elevate the state-wide ecosystem of innovation and excellence in cyberphysical systems with an emphasis on trust and security and to further secure Virginia’s role as a global leader in secure cyberphysical systems. The initiative supports world-class research at the intersection of data, autonomy, and security; promotes technology commercialization and entrepreneurship; and prepares future generations of innovators and research leaders. It builds upon Virginia’s strong base of research excellence, its innovative and diverse higher education system, vibrant ecosystem of venture capital investment and high-growth firms, and unparalleled density of cybersecurity talent.

The International Critical Infrastructure Institute (Forest) is a 501(c)(6) research and workforce development organization that specializes in cybersecurity and the protection of critical infrastructure from cyber-based threats.

The Human-Centric Security Laboratory at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg) is focused on cybersecurity, in particular network and information security, human-behaviors in computer security, user-centric and user-friendly systems, insider threats, secure information sharing, data privacy, and applied cryptography.

RamSec: Cybersecurity at Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond) focuses on security management, critical infrastructure vulnerability assessment, secure computation and compostable security, cryptographic techniques, and anonymity and privacy.

The Norfolk State University Center of Excellence in Cyber Security (Norfolk) is focused on developing a cloud-based, big-data analysis capable Cyber Analysis, Simulation and Experimentation Environment to enhance situational awareness and decision support capabilities for cyber defense and cyber training.

Radford University recently launched a degree program in Cybersecurity, designed to prepare students to meet the anticipated demand for 3.5 million cybersecurity professionals by 2023. The bachelor of science in Cybersecurity is the first at a four year public institution in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Graduate InfoSec program at James Madison University is one of the best technical Information Security graduate programs in the nation. This rigorous academic program is 100% Internet-based, which makes the program especially suitable for working professionals.  This online education program offers students the flexibility to learn, interact with expert faculty and quality students, complete assignments, and obtain feedback from the faculty; while conveniently in their homes or offices, during the day, evenings, and weekends. Information Security is covered in every class as it relates to the course subject matter.