CybersecurityVirginia welcomes cybersecurity start-ups to a state-backed business accelerator

Earlier this week, MACH37, a business accelerator for cybersecurity start-ups in Virginia, welcomed a new group of companies one year after it was launched to help establish the state as a market for cybersecurity firms. The three-month program, funded with state money, offers a $50,000 investment and access to a network of mentors to companies that can turn their ideas into viable businesses. “We want to create companies that can be sustainable and that we can get a return on investment from,” said Rick Gordon, the program’s managing partner.

The Washington Post reports that the new companies include BiJoTi, which helps small and mid-size firms meet compliance requirements and fight cyberthreats by using affordable state-of-the-art technology; Syncurity, which offers software for mid-size businesses to respond to cyberthreats, document lessons learned, and record security improvements; and Virgil Security, which develops software that makes it simpler for developers to encrypt applications, cloud services, and other technology.

Cybersecurity spending has increased dramatically in recent years as regulators urge corporations and small businesses to protect their network systems from domestic and global cyberthreats. “It is a Main Street issue now,” Gordon said. “It’s not just folks in the financial services sector that are worried about it or folks that are involved in the electric grid that are worried about it. Everyone is worried about it because the Internet is pervasive and part of the fabric of everyone’s lives.”

Last Month, Maryland-backed investment outlet, Technology Development Corp., established a $1 million fund to invest up to $100,000 in promising cybersecurity firms. The state is home to the U.S. Cyber Command at Fort Meade and the soon-to-be-built National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence in Montgomery County.

Like neighboring Maryland, Virginia wants cybersecurity firms to operate or maintain a headquarters in the state. Start-ups that receive the $50,000 investment must form “significant presence” in Virginia within two years. “We think what that means is at the very minimum a Mid-Atlantic or government-focused sales and delivery mechanism,” Gordon said. “Ideally what we think makes a lot of sense is they’ll headquarter here, but we’re not pushing that far.” By persuading cybersecurity firms to establish in Virginia, officials expect the firms to one day become sources of well-paying jobs and tax revenue.