Stamford firm establishes cybersecurity center at UConn

The University of Connecticut”™s School of Engineering has partnered with Stamford-based Synchrony Financial to launch a center designed to promote research in that field, expected to grow from $122 billion this year to $202 billion by 2021.

With the investment of $2.2 million over the next five years, Synchrony Financial”™s Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity aims to develop information security talent and leading research to help companies and consumers stay ahead of foreign and domestic cybersecurity threats.

The Stamford firm will also provide an endowment for a Synchrony Financial Chair in Cybersecurity to lead cybersecurity education at the school and help develop a strong pipeline of information security talent, and has committed funding toward a Cybersecurity Fellows Program and a scholarship program to attract to UConn graduate students interested in the subject.

Prior to its 2014 initial public offering, consumer financial services company Synchrony Financial operated as the GE Capital Retail Finance Corp.