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By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications

KEARNEY – The ransomware attacks against Colonial Pipeline Co. and JBS are the latest on a long list of high-profile cybercrimes targeting businesses in the U.S.

This time, the mysterious criminals managed to temporarily shut down the nation’s largest fuel pipeline and threaten the country’s meat supply, forcing the companies to pay a combined $15.4 million before they could resume normal operations.

These attacks, where criminals take an organization’s data or computer system hostage, are a growing national security concern. As technology advances, so too does the risk to individuals, businesses, school systems, hospitals, infrastructure and governments.

Jacques Bou Abdo, an assistant professor in the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Department of Cyber Systems, called the most recent incidents “the tip of the iceberg,” noting that most cyberattacks aren’t reported publicly.

“We are now waking up to how real this threat is,” he said.

To stay ahead of hackers and organized crime groups, businesses, organizations and government agencies of all sizes are looking to beef up their digital security and recruit highly trained professionals who can help protect their assets.

That’s led to a huge demand for cybersecurity talent.

“The demand is very, very high, and it’s going to continue to grow in a very exponential way because of what we’re seeing,” said UNK professor Liaquat Hossain, who chairs the department of cyber systems.

Currently, there’s a severe shortage of cybersecurity professionals both nationally and globally. A 2020 survey by (ISC)², a nonprofit organization that specializes in cybersecurity training and certification, puts the number of unfilled positions at 359,000 in the U.S. and 3.1 million worldwide.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 31% growth rate for information security analysts from 2019-29, far exceeding the national average for all…