South Dakota is a growing state, but we aren’t just growing in our more traditional industries like agriculture, tourism, and financial services. In recent years, South Dakota’s cybersecurity industry has taken off!

Cybersecurity has become South Dakota’s next big industry. In fact, our cybersecurity industry has grown the 2nd fastest of any state over the last decade. The jobs of the future are right here in South Dakota. Our kids and grandkids don’t have to move out-of-state to chase the career of their dreams anymore.

We’ve grown to more than 9,000 cybersecurity jobs with 900 jobs openings – this highlights the ongoing demand for skilled workers. If you know someone who wants to earn a living in this high-demand field in South Dakota, send them to FreedomWorksHere.com! These jobs are incredibly well-paying. Most cybersecurity positions pay more than $85,000 on average, and information security analysts earn an average of more than $100,000!

This growth is possible because South Dakota has one of the top universities in America for cybersecurity and emerging technology: Dakota State University. DSU has received designations in cyber operations, cyber defense, and cyber research from the NSA and Homeland Security – that’s something only ten schools in the entire country can say!

We are also training South Dakota kids even before they get to college. The Governor’s Cyber Academy provides training opportunities high school students. They can attend the academy to get dual-credit training during the summer. They learn skills and earn digital badges that will help them earn high-demand jobs.

These opportunities encourage our kids to stay in South Dakota to earn their college degree. They also attract students from across America to choose South Dakota for their education.

This momentum is showing no signs of slowing down! This last legislative session, we also funded a Center for Quantum Information Science and Technology. I signed the bill in a celebration at Mad Labs at Dakota State University. South Dakota is already a leader in emerging technology. This center will take us to the next level by combining numerous fields to make tremendous advancements in cybersecurity, agriculture, healthcare, and more.

While we train up the next generation, we’re also doing everything we can to secure the personal data of South Dakotans today. I banned TikTok for state government in South Dakota and kicked off a national movement – dozens of states and the federal government followed our lead. Then, we backed it up by banning the Chinese company Tencent and creating a process to ban other dangerous companies controlled by nations that hate us.

October is Cybersecurity Month in South Dakota. Take the time to remind yourself how to protect your own data. Be careful about what you share online, keep your computer up-to-date, create unique passwords (and change them regularly), install antivirus programs and firewalls, and use common sense when connecting to the internet. These are just a few steps that you and your family can take to secure your data today.

And as our cybersecurity industry continues to grow and thrive, we will guarantee a safer tomorrow.