Governor Edwards Co-hosts Cybersecurity Summit - It was a busy day for Governor John Bel Edwards yesterday as he attended three separate events held in Northwest Louisiana. The first event was the National Governors Association CyberSecurity Conference held at the Shreveport Convention Center downtown. The summit focused on how cybersecurity affects all state governments and featured several cyber experts from private and government sectors. Edwards Co-Hosted the event with Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. During his keynote address, Edwards took time to point out Louisiana’s emergence in cybertechnology industry.
"We want to harness all of our regional assets in our effort to combat cyber-threats," Edwards explained. "Because of this work the I-20 corridor in Louisiana is now one of the fastest growing cyber-security regions, not just in Louisiana, not just in the south but across the nation."
Edwards led a panel discussion comprised of several education leaders and cyber-tech industry members to weigh in on the ever-changing landscape of cyber technology. Yogesh Khanna, Chief Technology Officer with tech services provider GDIT explained how industry and higher education can benefit one another.
Khanna said "We've got to engaged early on and make sure that we're having influence and bringing some industry specific knowledge to the table that allows these academic institutions to actually tailor their programs and make sure that the graduates are actually learning on things that are practically being addressed in the market."
Yesterday afternoon, Governor Edwards joined officials for a groundbreaking ceremony of the new I-20/I-220 Barksdale Air Force Base interchange in Bossier City. The $71-point-8 million dollar construction project will create a new access road into the base extending southward from the existing I-20/I-220 Interchange for better access to the base and easing traffic congestion.
And finally, Edwards dropped in at Bossier Parish Community College to announce a new cyber-center partnership for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering Technology at BPCC which will host ongoing cybersecurity training, credential coursework, and field exercises on a virtual cyber range for in-person trainees and online participants across the state and around the world.
