San Antonio, July 12, 2019 – San Antonio-based CNF Technologies Corp. has opened its new Port San Antonio Cyber Lab designed to support its global military operations.
CNF Technologies conservatively expects the space to help add 160 jobs to the San Antonio area as it projects rapid growth this year as one of five vendors nationwide chosen for the Air Force’s $950 million research laboratory agile cyber technology 2 contract.
CNF Technologies previously projected about $30 million in revenue for 2019, up from $4.5 million in 2015.
The new lab is about 6,000 square feet, while a phase two expansion will add 12,000 square feet to that. It supports monitoring and hunting operations, which are separated to ensure security. The facility is also able to upgrade to special access programs if needed, said Steve Lewis, CNF’s intelligence community solutions director.
The cyber lab will be a flagship facility for the company’s future, CNF Chief Operating Officer Steve Barish said, and puts it on the ground floor of the growth of Tech Port San Antonio.
The new cyber lab is expected to create a secure environment in which internal and external collaboration is possible. Inside the secure operations center, communication between the hunting and monitoring operations can only flow one way, said Andy Pilato, the company’s chief technology officer.
This is particularly helpful with the company’s partnership with the University of Texas at San Antonio’s National Security Collaboration Center, which will provide a pipeline for new talent, source code and experts the company can utilize, Pilato said.
For external collaborations, the conference room can be set up to work with outside organizations and individuals, said Adam Pohl, CNF’s systems engineer and team lead.
The addition is expected to be a cornerstone for development of Port San Antonio, Port San Antonio CEO Jim Perschbach said.
“As we … build that innovation center, as we bring in more national security assets and we look to turn San Antonio into truly the global leader in national security critical infrastructure protection, remember that a lot of that is because of CNF technologies,” Perschbach said. “It’s not the future. It’s the now.”