What it is
Dragos is a privately held industrial cybersecurity company focused on operational technology (OT), the systems that control physical processes in manufacturing, energy, water, transportation and other critical infrastructure. Its stated mission is to safeguard civilization from those trying to disrupt the critical infrastructure people depend on. Dragos was founded in April 2016, and its CEO and co-founder is Robert M. Lee. The company says it is headquartered in Washington, DC, with a global presence across the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East. It earlier opened a headquarters in Hanover, Maryland, in 2017.
Products and services
The Dragos Platform covers asset visibility, network monitoring, vulnerability and exposure management, threat detection and incident response for OT environments. Dragos also offers threat intelligence through WorldView, the Neighborhood Keeper collective defense program, OT Watch managed threat hunting, incident response, assessments, red team services and tabletop exercises. Dragos has announced it acquired NetRise and runZero.
Free community programs
The Community Defense Program gives qualifying U.S. and Canadian water, electric and natural gas utilities with under $100M in annual revenue free access to the Dragos Platform, Neighborhood Keeper membership and automated threat hunting. Participants must supply their own hardware, internet connectivity and staff to implement it, and apply through a Register Interest form. Approved participants also join OT-CERT, a free program that gives small and medium organizations toolkits, guides, videos and members-only working sessions for building OT security capabilities.
How founders can engage
Dragos is a company, not an accelerator or investor. Founders building industrial, energy or infrastructure products can use its free OT-CERT resources, threat reports and Year in Review publications to understand OT security expectations. Startups in the OT space may look at its partner program, and job seekers can browse the careers page for open roles at the company.
Why it matters in the DMV ecosystem
Dragos is a DC-headquartered industrial cybersecurity company and an example of the DMV's depth in security for critical infrastructure, drawing on the region's federal, defense and utility expertise. It is a source of talent, research and potential partnerships for founders working where software meets physical systems.
