UK cybersecurity firm Bridewell Consulting opens Houston location
Bridewell Consulting, a Reading, UK-headquartered cybersecurity managed services and consulting firm, has expanded to North America with a new office in Houston.
The Houston office will enable Bridewell to better service its existing US clients, sign on new clients, and give it a springboard to expand further across the continent, according to a press release from the company.
The expansion follows a multimillion-dollar investment from private equity firm Growth Capital Partners last year.
Bridewell was founded in 2013 and has grown to more than 130 professionals and eight offices in the UK. The firm provides cybersecurity, managed security, penetration testing, and data privacy services to clients in critical national infrastructure, aviation, financial services, government, and oil and gas. Bridewell’s offerings include cyber and risk assessments; a 24/7 security operations center; managed detection and response; digital forensics; penetration testing for mobile, web, and applications; and data privacy assessments and audits.Bridewell has grown rapidly in the last several years, with 75% year-on-year revenue growth since FY 2018. The firm in 2021 registered 50% growth in revenue and a 156% increase in headcount amid breakneck demand for cyber transformation and managed services as companies struggled with an abrupt switch to remote working.
The firm will also look to capitalize on a hotter threat landscape as Russia faces crushing sanctions from the US and Europe in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Russia is home to many of the world’s most prominent hacking gangs, many of whom are backed by the Russian state to fulfil foreign policy objectives against its adversaries in the West.
Russian hackers in May 2021 forced Colonial Pipeline to shut down for six days through a successful ransomware attack, leading to fuel shortages in the US South and panic buying. The energy firm ultimately payed a $4.4 million bitcoin ransom, though about half was later recovered.
President Biden last week urged American business leaders to strengthen their cyber defenses immediately.
“We’re at a crucial stage when it comes to critical national infrastructure security. Threats from nation states are rising and innovative methods of cyberattacks are significantly outpacing regulation, policy, and strategies,” said Scott Nicholson, Bridewell co-CEO. “Bridewell’s success in delivering flagship security transformation projects in the UK, combined with our industry-leading expertise in both IT and OT security and our Microsoft Gold Partner status, means that we are uniquely placed to help North American organizations develop robust and resilient cybersecurity solutions at this critical time.”
The firm’s notable projects last year included transformation work on the security operations center for Manchester Airport Group and an independent information assurance review for the UK’s 2021 Census.
“The US has always been a key growth market for us, both in terms of our existing client base and the broader market opportunity,” said Anthony Young, co-CEO. “We’ve had a phenomenal couple of years in the UK, but our plan has always been to expand where there is a great need, with the evolving U.S. market ripe for managed security services.”
Gloss