7 Eagle Group Caribe will provide its services from Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico facilities and through cloud providers to include tertiary redundancy. The firm’s 24/7 monitoring will be handled by “SOC Certified” veterans, ensuring real-time detection of known and unknown attack vectors.
And as John Bozek, Invest Puerto Rico’s Director of Business Strategy and Research, points out, “Puerto Rico’s tech ecosystem begins with the highly skilled technical workforce that local universities produce and reaches across the globe.”
Cybersecurity education and training in Puerto Rico is available at the Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico. The university offers a Master of Science in Computer Science with a Specialization in Cybersecurity; a Master of Science in Computer Engineering with Emphasis in Cybersecurity; a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering with a specialization in Cybersecurity; and a Ph.D. in Applied Science and Engineering, with a Supplementary Area of Study of Computer Science with an emphasis in Cybersecurity.
The Polytechnic University of Puerto Rico has been awarded a U.S. Department of Homeland Security/National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity Defense (CAE CD) designation, which indicates the institution is helping reduce threats to the national infrastructure by promoting higher education and research in cyber defense as well as provide a pipeline of cybersecurity professionals.
In the city of San Juan, Ana G. Mendez University offers a Diploma in Cybersecurity that focuses on the technological and operational aspects of information warfare, including cyber-attack and cyber defense.
To create a framework against which talent and investment will grow, the Government of Puerto Rico enacted Act 60-2019 (Act 60), known as the Puerto Rico Incentives Code. Act 60 offers attractive tax incentives for tech companies that export their services from the island, with 0% federal taxes and a low 4% local corporate tax rate. Companies looking for a cybersecure environment will find vast resources and infrastructure in Puerto Rico.
Standing Up In San Antonio, TX
San Antonio, TX offers companies access to three significant resources when it comes to cybersecurity—Department of Defense (DoD) Cyber headquarters, Tier-1 university research, and a high volume of certified, security-cleared talent.
Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA)-Lackland is the headquarters for the 16th Air Force. This Wing integrates intelligence, surveillance, cyber, and electronic warfare capabilities for all U.S. Armed Forces. Best practices and technology in cybersecurity are in action daily at JBSA, producing commercialization opportunities, contract opportunities, and a deep talent pool of active duty, reserve, and civilian professionals. This also provides hardened infrastructure to support cyber activity.
San Antonio is also home to NSA Texas, an operation that is one of only four cryptological centers. The NSA TX conducts worldwide signals intelligence, cyberspace operations, and cybersecurity operations to ensure the integrity and availability of mission and computer systems. Beyond the foundational DoD assets, there are approximately100 operational cybersecurity companies in San Antonio at any given time—these are HQs, mid-sized operations, startups, and smaller consultancies that work directly with the military, NSA, schools, healthcare, and other businesses.
One such operation, CyberFortress, is a San Antonio-based provider of enterprise-level data security and backup services to 25,000 global customers. As San Antonio’s largest privately held software technology company, CyberFortress operates globally to provide comprehensive backup and disaster recovery, with coverage for a company’s data protection needs, as part of a broader cybersecurity strategy. Additionally, world-class research operations like Southwest Research Institute perform work in cyber security, radio frequency and signal analysis to advance industry network and homeland security.
There are approximately 10,000 certified cybersecurity professionals known to be in the San Antonio metro area. The city also has a top undergraduate cybersecurity degree program in the country at the University of Texas at San Antonio. There are also six NSA/DHS designated Centers of Academic Excellence (CAE) in the area, making San Antonio the city with the most CAE designations in the U.S.
As a strategic industry for the San Antonio region, jurisdictions—whether city, county, or the State of Texas—stand ready to incentivize cyber companies pending job creation and investment thresholds.
