Jacob Waltz, the founder of the Collierville-based cybersecurity firm Intraframe US, is originally from Sweden.
He came to Memphis via a "genius visa" granted by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. He first worked in TV as an engineer, but his heart was always in computers.
"I have to give my father credit for that. He got me my first computer when I was about five years old to tinker with. It was an Amiga 500," said Waltz.
Waltz and his wife Danielle founded Intraframe in 2019.
"We provide what's known as managed detection and response services for smaller-to-mid-size businesses," he said.
The focus on smaller businesses is key to Intraframe's approach. Waltz said that larger cybersecurity firms tend to be expensive, charging thousands of dollars. They may charge $100 to purchase a license but require that the business buy a minimum of 100 licenses. Because Intraframe doesn't adhere to a specific licensing model, it is more accessible and affordable for small businesses.
Intraframe has clients that range from 25 to over 700 employees.
Waltz employs about 15 contractors who work as analysts, threat hunters, and incident responders. They work to safeguard a company's data.
Waltz said much of it boils down to a business not having good enough training regarding "cyber-hygiene" — employees using bad or repetitive passwords or not using multi-factor authentication.
"The biggest threats are data exfiltration, business email compromise," he said. "Our data resides in multiple places. It's harder than ever before to defend that data."
Waltz's weapon of defense is Deltagate — a "SOCAAS" service. It stands for Security Operations Center as a Service, which provides comprehensive monitoring. Waltz developed Deltagate, and he's got the credentials. Back in 2021, he earned a CISSP certification — a sought-after distinction — from the International Information System Security Certification Consortium.
Deltagate works by deploying sensors over a client's networks, which is monitored by an analyst. If there's an alert, the analyst will investigate what is happening.
Recently, one of Intraframe's biggest clients got hacked. Hackers got the administrator's password and worked around a two-way verification. The hackers had free rein. But, Intraframe put a stop to it within 10 minutes, according to Waltz.
Intraframe offers multiple services under the cybersecurity umbrella. Customers can choose which services they need.
Waltz said that once they find something out of the ordinary, someone poking around where they shouldn't be, they build a wall and cut that person off. If the situation calls for it, they will contact the FBI.
And it suits him.
"I've always had a passion for investigation — creating policies and procedures and making sure that you can audit any actions taken," he said. "Naturally, cybersecurity has been a passion. I love it. I love IT security."
