Proof Labs has risen fast in New Mexico's aerospace industry; a new partnership could take its cybersecurity technology to even greater heights.
Founded in Albuquerque in March 2021, Proof Labs learned this summer it would become a member of a national organization called Space ISAC, which connects aerospace companies across the country around information sharing and data analysis.
Gaining membership will give Proof Labs access to a brand new Cybersecurity Vulnerability Lab at Space ISAC's headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which it could use for operations "as early as January," said Dick Wilkinson, one of the co-founders and the CTO of the Albuquerque space systems cybersecurity company.
Membership also opens up other opportunities. Proof Labs can connect with more up-and-coming aerospace companies that could either help grow its technology or land lucrative contracts, said Ricardo Aguilar, Proof Labs' other co-founder and CEO.
"That's what Space ISAC is really about," Wilkinson said. "We won't get stuck in a little corner or an enclave somewhere. We really get to interact with every level, every part of the space community to provide our services."
These services encompass risk assessments for aerospace companies — more specifically cyber vulnerability assessments, or CVAs. Companies developing space systems — small satellites or ground-based launch stations, for instance — contract with Proof Labs to test their technologies against a range of different cybersecurity threats.
Access to the Colorado Springs Cybersecurity Vulnerability Lab will allow Proof Labs to carry out "forensic testing on supply chain components," Aguilar said. This also ensures that the technological parts aerospace companies use to build space systems are cyber-secure and not counterfeit, he said.
"Having access to that lab has given us the ability to provide a solution to those customers that want to do cybersecurity assessments," Aguilar said. "Being a member is going to get us much closer to getting contracts."
Aguilar said that Proof Labs wants to land contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense and military suppliers, alongside contracts with commercial space companies like SpaceX or Virgin Galactic.
But it's not only massive corporations — such as Lockheed Martin, Northrup Grumman or Amazon — that Proof Labs has identified as potential contract partners. The company is also looking for contracts with smaller aerospace companies that could benefit from its risk assessment services, such as SpinLaunch, Aguilar said.
Using Space ISAC's lab to test its forensic technology and land more contracts will let Proof Labs scale faster in the short term. But eventually, through continued growth, Aguilar said that he wants to bring Proof Labs' technology back down to New Mexico and set up its own lab and test facility in Albuquerque.
