Another Promising Foundstone Spin-Off: Special Ops Security, Inc.

I previously blogged how fellow ex-Foundstoners Kevin Mandia launched Red Cliff Consulting and Clinton Mugge started C-Level Security. I just learned that my friend Erik Birkholz, author of the excellent Special Ops Security book, started his own company: Special Ops Security, Inc. His press release contains the following:

"Specialized security firms Foundstone, @Stake and Guardent were acquired in late 2004 by large, product-only vendors McAfee, Symantec, and VeriSign, creating a void for highly customer-focused security players in the industry. Special Ops Security meets that growing demand for specialized information security knowledge by blending consulting, training and technology into a new hybrid breed of educational solutions for our customers. With the combined talent of Erik Pace Birkholz, Steven Andrés, and Chip Andrews, the company, with a unique all-CISSP certified management team, is committed to delivering tactical and strategic solutions that optimize the people, processes and technology that protect customer data."


I think Erik has a point. If a customer goes to McAfee, Symantec, or Verisign for security consulting, they will end up with a pitch for each company's products or services. In world where best-of-breed security solutions tend to not all come from a single vendor, I think it is useful to have independent security consultants with a view of the "big picture."

The Special Ops books page also mentions three future books on "Tactical Host And Network Security," "Strategic Security," and "Operational Host And Network Security." Good luck Special Ops team! If I need to contact you, I'll be sure to call your number: 888-R-U-OWNED (for real).