The MassMutual Foundation has announced a $15 million grant to support the cybersecurity program at UMass Amherst over the next 10 years.The school’s Center for Data Science will receive $12 million to add faculty, double the number of courses and triple the size of the computer science masters program. The Foundation’s President Nick Fyntrilakis says cybersecurity is considered the top threat faced by our country.
“Cybersecurity is now considered the No. 1 threat faced by our country,” Fyntrilakis said. “On average a data breach cost an organization more than $160 million not to mention the damage done to its reputation and obviously to the individuals that are impacted.”
New research and educational opportunities within UMass Amherst’s Cybersecurity Institute will be supported by the grant’s remaining $3 million.