Virginia’s unique place in American history goes back to the very beginning, with the establishment of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, in 1607.

One of the great draws of Virginia for outdoor enthusiasts is its wide variety of landscapes in a compact geographic area.

Virginia’s cities, counties, and towns represent a wide range of living situations, with a location to support any lifestyle.

Steven Chen is the founder of PFP Cybersecurity, a cybersecurity firm in Fairfax County, and a partner at Blu Venture Investors, a venture capital fund focused on early-stage firms in several fields, including cybersecurity. VEDP Vice President of Knowledge Work Meghan Welch spoke with Chen about the cybersecurity funding environment in Virginia.

VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi spoke with Candice Ling, senior vice president at Microsoft and head of the company’s federal government business unit, about Microsoft’s cybersecurity work with the federal government and potential future developments in the cybersecurity industry.

Brad Medairy is executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, a Virginia-based Fortune 500 company where he leads the national cyber account and focuses on the cyber missions of national-level clients like the FBI, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Cyber Command. VEDP President and CEO Jason El Koubi spoke with Medairy about the key cybersecurity issues his company works on for its clients and the future of cybersecurity with the rise of AI and quantum technology.

Quokka entered the cybersecurity world with a big reputation — under its previous name, the company landed on the front page of The New York Times after discovering a critical security vulnerability in some Android smartphones that sent user data to Chinese servers. In 2019, the company’s further investigations into mobile apps exposed that the massive social media app TikTok was sending data to China.

Virginia is leading efforts to address the country’s talent gap. The Commonwealth has the second-largest cyber workforce in the U.S., with demand continuing to grow. Between September 2023 and August 2024, Virginia employers sought to fill 51,005 cybersecurity jobs, and that number is only expected to rise, according to CyberSeek.

Virginia’s Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is devising innovative solutions to these emerging threats. Launched in 2020, CCI is a state-funded program that collaborates with businesses, higher education institutions, and local governments to support research, innovation, and workforce development in cybersecurity across the region.

In Northern Virginia, GMU created the first cybersecurity engineering major in the country, which helps support its bustling C5I center. The major launched with 105 students 10 years ago. A decade later, 800 students are enrolled in what is now a department, and interest continues to increase unabated.