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Novacoast, which has its cybersecurity and operations headquarters in Wichita, will serve as a partner in new technology for the Department of Defense, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., announced on Tuesday.
Moran hosted Department of Defense leaders at the Novacoast headquarters on Monday.
The Department of Defense’s Office of Operational Test and Evaluation named Novacoast to help with browser security plugin research. The partnership will aid the department in improving its cybersecurity measures.
“This partnership will enable Novacoast to bring our expertise and knowledge in cybersecurity to bolster our nation's security posture," Novacoast CEO Paul Anderson said in a release. "This is incredibly valuable to help keep our nation secure and it would not be possible without the tireless efforts of Senator Moran.”
When it opened in the downtown Epic Center, Novacoast had 40 employees.
Moran, a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, secured the funding for the project in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations. Five million dollars was appropriated to the Department of Defense to address this cybersecurity challenge. The amount that Novacoast is getting has not been disclosed.
“Novacoast’s expertise will be a tremendous asset to the Pentagon as they work to fortify cybersecurity across the military through this partnership,” Moran said. “A recent newcomer to Wichita, Novacoast is utilizing the talented workforce in Wichita to support our national security while bringing new cybersecurity jobs to the region.”
Wichita's growing cybersecurity sector
Nationwide, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 2022 pay for information security analysts, a person who plans operations to protect an organization's computer network, is on average $112,000 annually or about $54 an hour.
As of 2022, there were 170,000 cybersecurity analyst jobs in the U.S. The industry is expected to grow by 32% by 2032.
Wichita is not immune to the cybersecurity growth.
The city already has two major tracts in cybersecurity education, one at Wichita State University and the other at Friends University. In February, the National Science Foundation awarded WSU more than $2.4 million to help fund cybersecurity scholarships.
In addition, the 184th Wing of the Kansas Air National Guard at McConnell Air Force Base performs intelligence and reconnaissance operations for the Air Force. It also deals with cybersecurity, with the analysts using hands-on and university training.
Some of the 184th Wing's workers are part-time and can therefore work other cyber-related jobs in the Wichita area.
Last month, Knowmadics, another cybersecurity company with a presence in Wichita, formed a partnership with Wichita State University to focus on space security, identifying potential deviations in satellite operations.
In July, WSU opened the Digital Research and Transformation Hub building, which in addition to focusing on software development and cloud computing, works on cybersecurity.
Washington, D.C.-based Millennium Corp. opened a Wichita office in March 2021.
Novacoast opened a Security Operations Center in downtown Wichita in 2022 and later moved its headquarters from Santa Barbara, California, to Wichita.