San Diego Cybersecurity Clinic celebrates first anniversary

Leaders from the cybersecurity industry and higher education gathered at Snapdragon Stadium in SDSU Mission Valley to celebrate the first anniversary of the San Diego Cyber Clinic, which offers free services in cybersecurity to support local businesses, critical infrastructure, government agencies and nonprofits.

Launched in summer 2024 by the Cyber Center of Excellence (CCOE), Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM), National University, and San Diego State University with support from Google’s Cybersecurity Clinics Fund and The Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics, the clinic works to grow a skilled cyber workforce, increase digital security, and serve as a model for regional collaboratives around the world.

In its first year, the San Diego Cyber Clinic supported more than 30 local businesses, 18 faculty members, and 170 students by providing free cybersecurity services to the community while offering hands-on training to the next generation of cyber professionals.

“The San Diego Cyber Clinic is thrilled to celebrate one year of advancing the cyber workforce while safeguarding small businesses and under-resourced organizations across our region,” said Lisa Easterly, CCOE president & CEO.

“CCOE is proud to partner with CSUSM, National University, and SDSU to deliver a wide range of free cybersecurity services to the community — all made possible through support and mentorship from Google.org and The Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics,” Easterly added. ”Together, we’re training more students, bolstering more organizations, and forging new partnerships to seed the talent pipeline and strengthen regional resiliency.” 

The work of cybersecurity clinics in higher education institutions has been compared to the community clinics offered by law or medical schools. The San Diego Cyber Clinic provides CSUSM, National University and SDSU students the opportunity to learn hands-on cybersecurity and AI skills while simultaneously helping to protect vulnerable organizations and critical infrastructure, such as local small businesses, hospitals, schools, and energy grids, from cyberattacks.

According to the World Economic Forum's 2025 Global Risks Report, cyber insecurity remains one of the top 10 global risks over the next 10 years. Currently, there are nearly 514,000 open cybersecurity jobs available in the U.S, including 44,000 in California and 5,500 in the San Diego region, and demand for cyber professionals is projected to grow 32% by 2033. To ensure communities, critical infrastructure and businesses, both big and small across the U.S. are secure, there is a distinct need for a skilled, diverse and AI savvy cybersecurity workforce.

“The rapid sophistication of cyber threats and defenses – accelerated by AI – provides both challenges and opportunities for our students, faculty and greater San Diego community, that we have a privilege to serve,” said James Frazee, SDSU vice president for information technology and chief information officer. “The clinic enhances our collective cybersecurity curriculum with access to industry tools, expert mentorship, soft skills training and in-demand career pathways with local employers.”

Track record

A recent example of the clinic’s ability to benefit both local businesses and students is a semester-long network security audit conducted by four SDSU graduate students for MDF Technologies, a Carlsbad-based company that sells aircraft and naval parts to the federal government.

“Navigating the recent increase in disruptive cyber attacks on essential services — from local power grids to hospitals — will rely on a strong cyber workforce capable of defending against everyday threats,” said Maab Ibrahim, head of economic opportunity for the Americas, Google.org. 

“The San Diego Cyber Clinic is a crucial part of this effort: it gives students the hands-on experience they need to start careers, while at the same time providing vital, no-cost security services to local organizations that need them most. It’s a smart investment in both our workforce and the critical infrastructure that communities depend on.”

The San Diego Cyber Clinic is the only multi-institution clinic in the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics with a nonprofit industry partner leading the charge, training students to service clients across the public and private sectors in the San Diego region. Through engagement of key industry, academic, and government stakeholders, including the city-led San Diego Regional Cyber Lab, the San Diego Cyber Clinic aims to grow an inclusive cyber workforce, increase digital security for all and serve as a model for regional collaboratives.

“The San Diego Cyber Clinic is advancing our mission to train the next generation of cyber leaders while safeguarding community organizations,” said Matthew Nagamine, Membership Director at the Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics. “They join 56 Clinics worldwide that have already mobilized more than 3,500 students in service of more than 850 community organizations since our founding in 2021.

“We applaud their impressive first year and look forward to celebrating their continued impact as we work toward the Consortium’s vision of establishing a cybersecurity clinic in every U.S. state by 2030.”

Also participating in the anniversary event were Teresa Macklin, cybersecurity program director, CSUSM; Lance Larson, co-director, SDSU graduate program in Homeland Security and principal investigator for the San Diego Cyber Clinic; Chris Simpson, director of the Center for Cybersecurity, National University; and Ellen Neufeldt, president, CSUSM

The San Diego Cyber Clinic is one of 15 new clinics that launched in 2024 at higher education institutions across the U.S. under a collaboration from Google and The Consortium of Cybersecurity Clinics. In addition to $1 million in Google.org funding, the tech company has supported the San Diego Cyber Clinic with volunteer mentorship from Google employees, Google Titan Security Keys, and scholarships for the Google Career Certificate in Cybersecurity.