Maryland's Rockville Innovation Center Takes Aim at Cybersecurity

As the IoT reels from and struggles with ongoing security issues stemming from DDoS and botnet and SSH and DNS and innumerable other interrelated problems, the industry needs outside input and leadership to give it strategic guidance.

According to a recent announcement, one such source of guidance will be in the form of the Rockville Innovation Center (RIC) in Montgomery County, Maryland, where BioHealth Innovation (BHI) has partnered with The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation that operates federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), including the National Cybersecurity FFRDC, to look for innovative solutions to next-generation security threats.

BHI will serve as the primary manager for the RIC, which is home of BHI's health tech startup accelerator, Relevant Health. MITRE will provide the resident RIC start-up companies with technical mentorship and insight into the most pressing cybersecurity challenges facing business and government today. This collaboration is an extension of a strategic initiative recently launched by MITRE to act as an innovation bridge between the private and public sectors.

“Adding cybersecurity thought leadership expands the supportive capabilities of the RIC and our broader regional partnerships,” said Richard Bendis, President and CEO, BHI. “While the RIC currently serves as a great resource for health tech and biotech startups, we plan to support the convergence that is happening across disciplines that is driving new technology development in the Internet of Things, personalized medicine and other connected health devices. Cybersecurity is a major consideration to be addressed.”

The RIC will support start-ups and attract early-stage technology companies within these key technology sectors to graduate companies into commercial spaces in Montgomery County in a few short years.

“Collaborating with an organization like BHI that excels in every aspect of managing an innovation center provides a unique opportunity for MITRE,” said Dr. Mark Maybury, Chief Security Officer, MITRE, and VP and Director of the National Cybersecurity FFRDC, sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. “This arrangement enables each party to focus on what it does best, while taking both the RIC and Montgomery County's business community to new heights.”