Computer Security, Cyberwarfare Firms Being Attracted to Washington DC

Washington D.C. business leaders like venture capitalist Jonathan Aberman want to make the D.C. region a more attractive place for tech start-ups as the U.S. government — specifically the military – increases its spending on tech innovation and cybersecurity.

Defense Department leaders have said cybersecurity poses one of the top threats to the U.S. military and these generals are backing it up with their spending. Cybersecurity is one of the few areas where the U.S. military will spend more this year as their overall budget is cut. The Defense Department will spend $4.7 billion on cyber operations this year – a 21 percent increase over 2013.

Overall, the cybersecurity industry receives about $80 billion in government spending and more than $300 billion in spending within the private sector. Those numbers are expected to expand as it is estimated that cyber theft costs as much as $400 billion in economic losses per year.

This is good news for tech entrepreneurs like Anup Ghosh, who is the type of innovator that D.C. wants to keep in the region rather than see him and his company head to California.

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