Former KCG execs launch cyber firm with perspective
By
Nick Wakeman
Former KCG executives Matt Brown and Scott Ackerman saw a need for a services firm that could bring multiple perspectives to solving cyber challenges. They launched a new company to do just that.
One of the newest cybersecurity firms in the market is a culmination of years of work and recognition of what the founders call a need for multiple perspectives in addressing cyber issues.
Matt Brown and Scott Ackerman, former executives with Knowledge Consulting Group, have formed a new company called ShorePoint. Joining them is Rob Palmer, former deputy chief technology officer at the Homeland Security Department; and Ryan McCullough, a former senior vice president at Govplace.
“We have a lot of years of experience and we’ve all worked the cyber problem from different perspectives,” Brown told me.
Brown and Ackerman approached the problem as contractors with KCG providing cyber services such as the Continuous Diagnostics Monitoring program awarded in 2013 by DHS. KCG was a prime on CDM and was acquired by ManTech International in 2015.
Palmer brings the customer perspective of applying cyber solutions across the enterprise. Again, the CDM contract is an important part of his work at DHS.
And McCullough, with his experience at Govplace, brings the technology and product experience.
The combination of experiences will help them apply a holistic approach to cyber challenges, he said.
ShorePoint had a soft launch in June and has been building its corporate infrastructure. Palmer and McCullough also needed time to transition out of their old jobs. The company has six employees and four customers.
Eventually, ShorePoint will be on the GSA schedule and pursue prime contracts. Right now, the company is working with customers through partnerships with other customers.
By the end of 2018, the plan is for ShorePoint to have 20-some employees. “We feel confident in our plan,” Brown said.
Right now, the company is providing advisory services that bring those different perspectives to a customer’s cyber challenges. They are not trying to sell point solutions.
Given their experience around CDM, Brown said that helping customers move into the next phases of the program is an opportunity for them.
Customers are asking, “how do I change the organizational mindset and take advantage of the capabilities I have,” Brown said.
The CDM program is about six years old and agencies are collecting large amounts of data around their cyber health. “There is so much data out there that they need help putting context around it,” he said.