Alamo Region Security Operations Center (ARSOC) Provides Value for the Cybersecurity Ecosystem in San Antonio

San Antonio is the seventh largest City and the second largest cybersecurity ecosystem in the country, and the establishment of the ARSOC signals San Antonio’s dedicated focus to becoming a national leader in cybersecurity. The ARSOC will allow the San Antonio region to monitor, train, and work together to defend cybersecurity threats facing the community. In its effort to support the growth of the regional cybersecurity ecosystem, the City of San Antonio has attained one of the most significant strategic assets and investments with the ARSOC by creating a physical environment and virtual relationships that bridge education, training, entrepreneurship, critical infrastructure defense and continuity of government operations.

The ARSOC is committed to protecting City of San Antonio’s infrastructure and critical systems from threats using emerging technology and advancing cyber resilience in the region through public-private partnerships, collaborative trainings, and skills development, as well as regular training and exercises for regional municipal partner and participating organizations.

Located on San Antonio’s Cyber Campus at Port San Antonio, the ARSOC is adjacent to other critical assets and agencies that operate cyber and intelligence missions in support of national security. The integrated working and training facility will provide a unique environment that allows municipal agencies to share threat intelligence, work collaboratively to respond to threats, enhance training within their employee base, and simulate incidents based on real-time data. The collaborative operations center will create a rapid response team that enhances the capability to respond to cyber threats. The ARSOC concept supports the national collective defense strategy by providing numerous benefits to community partners and participants that include:

• Security & Resiliency
  • Force-multiplier for participating security teams of local government agencies
  • Advanced threat intelligence program and data sharing construct, creating increased situational awareness and operational metrics for enhancing community security resilience
  • Alignment and operational intelligence support between the ARSOC and the City’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and Southwest Texas Fusion Center
  • Pivotal partner for support of the Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) cyber initiative, as well as the Texas Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (ISAO)
  • Creation of a culture of Cyber Mutual Assistance (CMA) that will become a model for collaborative security operations
• Talent Development
  • Real-time incident response, training and knowledge-building for multiple security teams across different municipal agencies, organizations and government partners
  • Partnership opportunities with local colleges and universities for student training, lab usage and ‘hands-on-keyboard’ skills development
• Entrepreneurship
  • Industrial Control Systems lab within the ARSOC will support municipal agencies’ abilities to engage, test and prototype new technologies and solutions
  • Shared, anonymized data allows new opportunities for emerging technology startups to showcase products and capabilities to municipal technology and security leaders
• Research & Development
  • Joint partnerships with UTSA’s National Security Collaboration Center (NSCC), Center for Cyber and Data Analytics and Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) will allow for talent recruitment, knowledge-sharing and applied research projects that support the operational success of the ARSOC