Austin startup protects U.S. military sites’ info

Army veteran says service is at core of cybersecurity firm.

In 2006, Brendan Mullen left the U.S. Army after serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. After returning to his home in Washington, D.C., to begin a new career, he still wanted to help the military in some way.

After working at a cybersecurity company in Washington, Mullen in 2008 launched MKS2 Technologies, which provides cybersecurity and other IT consultancy services to U.S. military organizations and, after moving to Austin 17 months ago, is now ranked as the fastest growing private company in the city by entrepreneur publication Inc. 5000.

“If you want to pull a thread through the entire theme of the business, it is continuing to serve. It is giving back,” said Mullen, 39. “It’s providing veteran spouses and family members, as well as those war fighters, an opportunity from our services that won’t touch them in a war-like environment, but the services we’re doing sets them up to be in a safer environment.”

MKS2 stands for Mission, Knowledge, Strategies and Solutions.

The company’s main clients are the U.S. Army, Department of Veteran Affairs and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the government agency that administers civilian foreign aid. Mullen said MKS2 now operates in about 21 states and 31 VA hospitals protecting information of patients and