New Cyber Security Coalition Forms to Attract and Retain Highly Educated Talent in the Valley of the Sun

Recognized industry leaders in Arizona are excited to announce the launch of Security Canyon, a new cyber security coalition taking on the challenge of finding and attracting highly educated talent to staff the increasing number of cyber security positions in Arizona. The mission of Security Canyon is to promote economic development in our own backyard by encouraging new cyber security organizations to open offices in Arizona and to entice new graduates to seek employment in Arizona.

Security Canyon is led by a board of directors comprised of cyber security leaders in Arizona, including Ori Eisen of Trusona, Yves Huin of Acteam, Joe Loomis of CyberSponse, Sean Moshir of CellTrust, Jason Pistillo of University of Advancing Technology, Tina Slankas of the City of Phoenix and Kyle Starkey of Early Warning.

“Arizona has potential to be the next hot spot for cyber security talent and enterprise,” said Jason Pistillo, president of University of Advancing Technology, an elite university in Arizona that has spent more than 15 years educating the brightest cyber talent in the nation. Pistillo also serves as a member on the board of directors for Security Canyon.

This new coalition, with an eye toward long-term solutions to nurture a vibrant local community of cyber security talent, will turn the Phoenix Metro area and Arizona into a hub of cyber talent. The goal of Security Canyon is to foster the local development of the corresponding industries and businesses; Arizona must generate, attract and retain an increasing number of organizations and highly educated talent.

“Phoenix is the only metropolitan area in America without natural disasters, which makes it a perfect home to build data centers for fighting cyber crime,” said Eisen of Trusona.

City of Gilbert Mayor John Lewis said, “In our increasingly connected digital world, we have the power to innovate in unprecedented ways. With the advent of new and improved technologies, we must keep pace with safeguarding our critical infrastructure networks. We appreciate the leadership of the Security Canyon coalition to make the digital world safer by preventing cyber attacks. For economic development purposes, we also thank Security Canyon for attracting cyber talent to Arizona.”