The Army said the data center, which will be built by Balfour Beatty/DPR/Big-D joint venture, will have 1.5 million square feet of building space, including 100 000 square feet of raised floor data center space and more than 900 000 square feet of technical support and administrative space.
InformationWeek reported that the data center will be used by the NSA to gather intelligence about cybersecurity threats to Department of Defense networks. Construction of a data center for NSA at Camp Williams is included in the NSA's FY 2010 budget estimate.
The data center is part of the the NSA Comprehensive National Security Initiative (CNSI), which is intended to bolster cybersecurity efforts to protect federal computer networks from intrusion by hackers and foreign governments, InformationWeek said.
The CNSI, launched by President Bush in 2008 and continued under the Obama administration, has the following goals:
- To establish a front line of defense against immediate cybersecurity threats by creating or enhancing shared situational awareness of network vulnerabilities, threats, and events within the federal government and acting to reduce current vulnerabilities and prevent intrusions.
- To defend against the full spectrum of cybersecurity threats by enhancing counterintelligence capabilities and increasing the security of the supply chain for key information technologies.
- To strengthen the future cybersecurity environment by expanding cyber education; coordinating and redirecting research and development efforts across the federal government; and working to define and develop strategies to deter hostile or malicious activity in cyberspace.