TASC, Inc. opened its newly renovated facility in San Antonio on Wednesday, including a state-of-the-art cyber security lab.
The cyber lab allows the company to maintain an isolated environment for testing control systems, which may be for military or civilian use. For example, engineers can set up a programmable object controller used to open and close a water pump or propane tank. They can then run penetration tests, which will uncover where there might be vulnerabilities or holes in the system.
Shane Curtis, TASC’s regional director in San Antonio, said the lab has existed in various forms for the past two years, but that the industrial controls component arose in the past year. The lab has worked with control systems within military applications, including aircraft carriers and space operations.
Curtis said the lab can also support virtual systems for testing software and determining whether there is any malware before releasing it onto an open network.
“TASC is looking at this area as a place where we can invest money to help our customers,” said Rick Wagner, senior vice president of TASC’s Defense Group.
Wagner said the initial idea for the lab and the upgrade this year was in response to customers’ needs. TASC first conceived the lab while working with the Tennessee Valley Authority two years ago.
San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro, who helped open the center yesterday, said he believed the lab could serve as a model for other cities to ensure the safety of their critical infrastructure, according to Wagner.
Wagner said he envisions the lab as “a center of thought leadership with cyber.” He said the lab will provide a framework for the future about how to approach cyber security issues.
“We don’t want to just make it a point-solution,” he said.