| More than 153 million data records of Americans have been compromised due to security breaches since January 2005, according to the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. In one of the more recent major incidents, TJX Companies Inc — parent company of TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other retail stores — was hacked, causing more than 45 million of credit and debit card numbers to be exposed, along with half a million merchandise return records that contained driver’s license numbers.
“Incidents like the TJX security breach will likely result in new laws,” says Brian Morkert, president of TrustCC. “This is a serious problem that in large part is carried out by organized crime these days.”
TrustCC is in business to help companies avoid these kinds of incidents. The virtual company, founded in 2001, serves about 40 percent of Washington’s banks and currently all the credit unions through a state contract.
“We hack banks,” says Morkert, a Port Orchard native who lives in Silverdale. “We test security from several different perspectives — from inside the network (employee perspective) and over the Internet for hackers.”
The job requires much more than tech skills. While many people may think of hackers as simply geeks, TrustCC employs not only technology but also social engineering (posing as employees to gain physical access) and other techniques. They measure regulatory compliance for things like HIPPA, and work with a variety of industries ranging from health care organizations and financial institutions to utilities and publicly traded companies.
Morkert, who is president, has worked in information security for the last 12 years. A layoff from a consulting firm took him on the route of self-employment. While vying for a bank contract, he was introduced to a competitor, Tom Schauer. Soon, the two founded TrustCC and since then the company has seen steady growth. Although the mailing address is in University Place, where Schauer lives, the company is completely mobile and virtual, so Morkert himself is based in Silverdale. He is also active in the West Sound Technology Professionals Association, currently serving on the board of directors.
They started off small, working with community-size banks in the state. Now, TrustCC has clients in several other states and 10 employees and contractors. Within the next two years, they hope to expand to 15 people and expand operations to other states.
“The security industry is a good field to be in, so there’s starting to be more competition,” he said. The need for the service continues to grow as more security breach and identity theft incidents occur and regulations continue to tighten. Compliance monitoring is a major part of the company’s business, although a small portion of customers take the initiative without being obligated by regulations to do so.
Morkert’s 20-year career in information systems and consulting has included design, implementation, technology management, and information security roles such as international fraud investigation. Although he has extensive technology implementation experience, TrustCC does not do implementation and stays vendor-neutral in order to avoid conflict of interest.
With an ever-changing technology, the company has to stay on the leading edge. Staff training is ongoing — including attendance at DefCon, which bills itself as “the largest underground hacking event in the world.” Morkert says the company continues to invest in new technology and refine its expertise in order to differentiate itself from competitors and continue to build its good reputation.
Morkert, who was born and grew up in Port Orchard and returned to Kitsap County after a six-year stint in the Air Force, says he enjoys working in his own community. “It’s awesome, being mostly responsible for a successful company and providing income to other people,” he said. |
