The state awarded nearly $500,000 to Metropolitan State University of Denver to train students in cybersecurity, Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office announced this week.

The need for cybersecurity expertise is rapidly growing, but many small Colorado communities lack the budget and workforce to identify and respond to threats. 

“With the rising importance of cybersecurity preparedness to business, a large federal and military presence in the state, and our continually growing metro and rural populations, the need for cybersecurity-related expertise in Colorado has never been higher,” Weiser said in a press release.

The $492,059 grant will be used to train 85 first-year cybersecurity analysts. The goal is to train 100.

The funding comes from the $3.6 million in Equifax settlement, stemming from a national data breach in 2017.

Grants will be issued over two years with a one-year option to extend.

Denver’s cybersecurity program is the lead institution for Project PISCES, a nonprofit that provides no-cost cybersecurity monitoring and protection.

“Smaller organizations desperately want help right now to protect their systems, while students training to be cyberanalysts absolutely need experience working with real data,” said Richard Mac Namee, the Cybersecurity Center director at MSU Denver. “That’s why this funding is so important.”

MSU Denver will work with others to train and oversee PISCES in Colorado.

Cybercrime is on the rise nationally. Last year, internet crime cost the U.S. $10.3 billion with more 800,000 Americans reporting complaints, according to the FBI.

Phishing schemes are the most popular. The largest cohort that reported phishing schemes were those aged 30 to 39, while the greatest losses were incurred among Americans 60 and older.