Critical Start is a

cybersecurity Computer security (also cybersecurity, digital security, or information technology (IT) security) is a subdiscipline within the field of information security. It consists of the protection of computer software, systems and networks from thr ...

company based in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "flat surface" /'plano/) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, where it is the largest city in Collin County, Texas, Collin County. A small portion of Plano is located in Denton County, Texas, Denton Count ...

. With offices across the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The company provides managed detection and response services,

endpoint security Endpoint security or endpoint protection is an approach to the protection of computer networks that are remotely bridged to client devices. The connection of endpoint devices such as laptops, tablets, mobile phones, and other wireless devices t ...

, threat intelligence,

penetration test A penetration test, colloquially known as a pentest, is an authorized simulated cyberattack on a computer system, performed to evaluate the security of the system; this is not to be confused with a vulnerability assessment. The test is perform ...

ing,

risk assessment Risk assessment is a process for identifying hazards, potential (future) events which may negatively impact on individuals, assets, and/or the environment because of those hazards, their likelihood and consequences, and actions which can mitigate ...

s, and incident response.

History

Critical Start was founded in 2012 by former RSA Security executive Rob Davis, following

nation-state A nation state, or nation-state, is a political entity in which the state (a centralized political organization ruling over a population within a territory) and the nation (a community based on a common identity) are (broadly or ideally) con ...

attacks on cybersecurity organizations such as RSA and VMWare Carbon Black in 2011. In March 2018, Critical Start announced an agreement to acquire the security analytics platform Advanced Threat Analytics to incorporate its Zero-Trust Analytics Platform. As a part of the agreement, Critical Start launched its native

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android mobile security operations center application. In August 2019, Critical Start published its second annual research survey reporting that

security operations center A security operations center (SOC) is responsible for protecting an organization against cyber threats. SOC analysts perform round-the-clock monitoring of an organization’s network and investigate any potential security incidents. If a cybe ...

analysts face a "surprising number of alerts each day that are taking longer to investigate." According to an article featured o
MSSP Alert
the report surveyed security operations center professionals across enterprises managed security service providers, and managed detection and response providers to evaluate the state of incident response within security operations centers from a variety of perspectives, including alert volume and management, security operations center analyst training, turnover, business models, and customer communications. The survey found that more than 8 out of 10 security operation center analysts reported that their security operations centers had experienced between 10 percent and 50 percent analyst churn in the past year. Additionally, 70 percent of respondents investigate more than 10 alerts each day – up from 45 percent the previous year – while 78 percent state that it takes over 10 minutes to investigate each alert, which is up from 64 percent the previous year. Critical Start revealed later that month that they would be expanding to a channel-driven model along with the expansion of the company's national distributors and network of

value-added reseller A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that adds features or services to an existing product, then resells it (usually to end-users) as an integrated or complete " turn-key" product. This practice occurs commonly in the electronics or IT industr ...

s. In June 2023, Critical Start opened two new facilities, one in

Lehi, Utah Lehi ( ) is a city in Utah County, Utah, United States. The population was 75,907 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, up from 47,407 in 2010, and it is the center of population of Utah. The rapid growth in Lehi is due, in part, to t ...

, and another in Pune, India. The facility in India is the company's first Center of Excellence for engineering.

Culture

Employee reviews on

Indeed Indeed, Inc. is an American worldwide employment website for job listings launched in November 2004. It is an independent subsidiary of multinational company Recruit Holdings. It is headquartered in Austin, Texas, and Stamford, Connecticut, w ...

present differing opinions on working at Critical Start. One review from 2021 described it as having an "awesome culture with a CEO that cares about employees," while another from 2023 stated that "leadership corrodes culture." As of February 2024, the overall rating on Indeed.com was 3.1 out of 5 stars. On

Glassdoor Glassdoor is an American website where current and former employees anonymously review companies, operated by the company of the same name. In 2018, the company was acquired by the Japanese company Recruit Holdings (owner of Indeed) for US$1. ...

, Critical Start had a rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars based on 112 anonymous reviews. Glassdoor also listed the company as a recipient of Built In’s "Best Places to Work" awards for 2023, 2024, and 2025.

Funding

In June 2019, Bregal Sagemount, a growth equity firm, invested $40 million in Critical Start as part of the company's first outside investment. According to the

Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

, the "investment helped accelerate its

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

n expansion" and partnerships with

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

, Splunk, Palo Alto Networks, Cylance, and

Carbon Black Carbon black (with subtypes acetylene black, channel black, furnace black, lamp black and thermal black) is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of coal tar, vegetable matter, or petroleum products, including fuel oil, fluid cataly ...

. It also helped expand the company's market presence for its MDR services, including the opening of new field offices in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– to "serve enterprise customers and its network of channel partners." DC Advisory served as the financial advisor to Critical Start. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

References

{{Reflist __FORCETOC__ Computer security companies Companies based in Plano, Texas