Columbus State University continues to address local and national cybersecurity needs by recruiting key figures to develop the university’s new focus on cybersecurity.

Ken Tye, retired senior executive vice president and chief information officer of Total System Services, recently joined CSU’s Turner College of Business as executive in residence of its TSYS School of Computer Science.
 
“Cybersecurity is going to be the nation’s greatest need going forward,” Tye said, noting that President Obama recently announced his intention to form the Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. Obama’s initial budget proposal also includes $19 billion for cybersecurity funding.
 
Tye will be part of the university’s effort to attract a prominent academic or industry professional to lead the new TSYS Cybersecurity Center. The Center, funded primarily through a gift from the leading global payment provider last year,  will provide scholarships, specialized training and career opportunities for students in the Turner College. 
 
“TSYS has hired hundreds of CSU students already,” said Tye. “We constantly need graduates familiar with state-of-the-art technology to meet a growing demand for employees who will protect our company, community and country.”
 
Tye’s experience in financial security goes beyond his 44-year career with TSYS. He was a victim of personal identify theft a few years ago.
 
“If I didn’t have the resources available to me through TSYS at the time, I wouldn’t have been able to recover from identity theft as thoroughly or as quickly as I did,” Tye said. “Everything you are, and everything that you have financially, is on a computer somewhere.”
 
This is a point Tye plans to stress during his upcoming address to the CSU community as the first speaker for this year’s Executive Speaker Series beginning at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 16 in the auditorium of the Center for Commerce and Technology on CSU’s main campus. Sponsored by CSU’s D. Abbott Turner College of Business, the series will host other prominent business experts throughout the semester. Admission is free and open to the public.
 
“I’m looking forward to assisting the university and its students by offering support, advice and lessons I’ve learned from the field,” Tye said.