Cyber Innovation Center and National Cyber Research Park Takes Next Step To Becoming Leader in Cyberspace

National Industry Leaders Add Their Support

BOSSIER CITY, La., Jan. 21 -- North Louisiana took the next big step toward entering the world's newest economic frontier with the Phase One groundbreaking of the Cyber Innovation Center (CIC) and National Cyber Research Park in Bossier City, Louisiana. CIC is a private/public partnership between industry, government and academia to assist in defending our nation in the newest warfighting domain: CYBERSPACE.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080121/LAM072)

"Cyberspace is where the next big threat to industry, individuals and national security is," said Craig Spohn, Director of the new Center. "Artillery and nuclear missiles will not be the weapons of the future. Attacks on Internet targets such as financial markets and government computer systems will be how the Cyber Cold War is waged. The Cyber Innovation Center will bring together academia, defense contractors, research and technology to assist the Department of Defense on this new Cyber battlefield, and we will do it here in Bossier City -- right outside the gates of the home of the Mighty 8th Air Force and the Cyber Combat Development Center."

According to Spohn, the Cyber Innovation Center and National Cyber Research Park will also allow the United States to compete with other countries in this new domain. "China just announced their intention to build 30 research parks by 2010, and 60 percent of their economy will be based on the technology industry and the developments produced from those research parks," he said. "We will have to compete with that."

AEP/SWEPCO, Northrop Grumman, IBM, General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Tandberg, Accenture, Force 10 and SYMANTEC have already recognized the importance of the strategic alliances CIC is pioneering and have committed as Platinum Sponsors to the cyber mission and the National Cyber Research Park. Construction should be completed on the first building in the new research park by October 2009. This building will be 120,000 sq ft and provides many amenities, including executive suites, Class A office space, state-of-the-art conferencing capabilities, and computer labs. Phase 1 plans include a 64 acre research park that houses approximately 500,000 sq ft of office space.