An early priority is for the Center to obtain recognition as one of the official
National Security Agency (NSA) Centers of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education. This designation creates opportunities for special government support in grants, scholarships, and internships, as
well as unique opportunities to work collaboratively with the other such centers around the country. Whereas there are already fifty such Centers now recognized by NSA, only the Naval Postgraduate School, Stanford, and Davis, and Portland State are on the West Coast. Most are concentrated in the east and particularly the northeast. The NSA desires to have centers strategically distributed geographically. The next deadline for consideration for NSA Center recognition is December 10, 2003. The center will submit a proposal for that consideration. The criteria are listed in the NSA CAE Standards section.

The Center will collaborate with the Pacific Northwest Information Assurance & Security Consortium, an association of industry, government, and education representatives that has a vision of insuring that the Pacific Northwest Information structure and practice is the safest and most secure in the world. It was organized with the leadership of Boeing and Congressman Dicks.