SAN FRANCISCO — New Brunswick is hoping to create some much-needed jobs by establishing a centre of excellence in cybersecurity.
Premier Brian Gallant was in San Francisco Tuesday to promote the province to information technology companies at a major cybersecurity conference.
He says the Fredericton area already has a number of major IT companies like IBM, as well as the University of New Brunswick, and CFB Gagetown, who all have an interest in cybersecurity.
"We believe that the greater Fredericton area is already a centre of excellence in cybersecurity for the world," he said.
"I don't think we've showcased it enough and that's one of the reasons why I wanted to come to this conference."
Gallant says becoming a centre of excellence involves having the expertise, the research and development, and leading information technology companies all in one area.
Gallant said he's convinced that if his government can demonstrate what's already happening in the province then others will want to be part of it.
He said each year cyber attacks around the world have an economic impact of between $400 billion and $500 billion.
"If we can put our stamp on it now, saying that we are a centre of excellence, really proving that we can deliver on that, I think there's a huge potential for growth over the next couple of years," Gallant said.
