Deal to attend cybersecurity center groundbreaking

Media Advisory from the Office of Gov. Nathan Deal

Gov. Nathan Deal, along with Georgia Technology Authority Executive Director Calvin Rhodes, local elected officials and business representatives, will attend a groundbreaking ceremony for a second building on the site of the Hull McKnight Georgia Cyber Center for Innovation and Training today, Jan. 3, at 2 p.m.

In January 2017, Deal announced $60 million in funding to establish a 167,000 square-foot state-owned cyber range that brings together academia, private industry and government to establish cybersecurity standards across state and local agencies to develop and practice protocols for responding to cyber threats. In November, Deal announced an additional $35 million in funding for this second facility that will serve as an incubator hub for technology startups and include leasable space available to the private sector supporting the state’s cybersecurity ecosystem.

With an additional $12 million from the City of Augusta, the total investment at the Hull McKnight Georgia Cyber Center for Innovation and Training now exceeds $100 million. The initial building will open in July 2018 and construction of this new 165,000 square-foot facility is expected to be complete in December 2018, bringing the total square footage of the site to more than 330,000 square feet.

GTA is overseeing construction and operation of the cybersecurity center. GTA partners include the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence at Fort Gordon, the Georgia National Guard, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the City of Augusta, the University System of Georgia, the Technical College System of Georgia, local school systems and private corporations.