Last year, I stood next to President Barack Obama at the White House, when he pledged to make securing the country's most vital computer networks a top economic and national security priority. It's a task that President Obama has described as the "most serious economic and national security challenge we face as a nation."

Recent news that Google was victim to a "highly sophisticated and targeted attack" is a stark reminder that, as individuals and as a nation, we must be more vigilant and more determined in our efforts to secure our cyber infrastructure. In an era where our economy, our infrastructure and the well-being of our families are so interconnected and dependent upon computers and cyberspace, one of our top priorities must be cyber security.

In Maryland, we are addressing this challenge head-on. For our state, meeting this challenge also happens to be a tremendous job creation opportunity.

With a unique combination of assets, including our skilled work force and our vast resources of federal facilities, academic institutions, industry strength and intellectual capital, Maryland is answering the president's call to action to defend and protect our nation's information networks while simultaneously creating jobs.

Maryland already has the most cyber security assets and resources of any state in the nation. And our federal assets are a big part of why we are in a better position than most other states in the union to get our economy back on track and lead the rest of our nation into a new era of prosperity.

There are more than a quarter-million Marylanders working in our technology sector, and more than 60,000 who work in computer systems design and related services - an area in which Maryland saw 7.2 percent growth in jobs from November 2008 to November 2009 - the best growth in this sector of any state in America.

The creation of the U.S. Cyber Command in Maryland, the BRAC transfer of military installations and the anticipated increase in spending for federal cyber security programs could create 10,000 to 15,000 jobs. When coupled with additional private-sector jobs and jobs necessary to support this growing economy, the number of new jobs may well double. Cyber security, computer systems design and all the high-tech, high-potential sectors of our economy are all connected to our goals for creating, saving and placing our fellow citizens in quality jobs. Given the unique security challenges we are facing as a nation and as a state, it's also connected to our goals for improving public safety and homeland security.

If we are going to meet this cyber security challenge, we must first understand it. We must grasp the vulnerabilities of our transportation network, energy grid, communication systems, public safety and economy. We must comprehend the significant ramifications of disruptions to these systems. We must support research and development to keep pace with the ever-evolving technologies, and to counteract the always innovative methods of cyber criminals. And we must prepare.

We - government, the private sector and industry - must work together at every level to ensure the security of our digital infrastructure now and in the future. We must prepare our students for careers in technology and cyber security, both in curriculum necessary for such careers as well as in lifestyle choices required for security clearance. Today's students are tomorrow's developers of next-generation technologies that will not only design new systems and products but also devise protections against and remedies for cyber attacks. We must provide training opportunities for our work forces, to ensure that they are knowledgeable in the pertinent technology.

And we must ensure that our citizens - the college student doing homework on a laptop computer in a dorm, the online shopper, the small business owner managing inventory online, or the CEO overseeing a multibillion-dollar corporation - are aware, informed and educated about the risks inherent in a global online community.

Earlier this month, at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (also known as our country's "digital fortress"), I joined institute Director Patrick Gallagher, U.S. Sens Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, and more than 200 industry representatives to outline how Maryland - already the logical center for cyber security - will continue to strengthen and create advanced and high-technology jobs to protect and defend our country's information networks. Together, with our partners in the private sector and all levels of government, Maryland is answering President Obama's call to action to not only ensure the security of our digital infrastructure now, and in the future, but to also ensure economic prosperity with thousands of new cyber security posts.

Martin O'Malley, the governor of Maryland, is co-chairman of homeland security for the National Governors Association Public Safety Task Force and a member of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council. His e-mail is governor@gov.state.md.us.