Reston-based LookingGlass acquires Next5

Bryan Ware named as CEO

Published May 17, 2022 by Courtney Mabeus

Reston-based cyber intelligence firm LookingGlass Cyber Solutions Inc. will acquire Washington, D.C.-based technology consulting firm Next5, the company announced May 11.

As part of the acquisition, Next5 CEO and founder Bryan Ware was named CEO of LookingGlass. He is replacing Gilman Louie as CEO, who has moved to the role of executive chairman, LookingGlass spokesperson Mary Yang said.

Financial terms were not publicly announced. Next5’s 15 Leesburg-based employees will be integrated with LookingGlass’s Reston-based workforce of 95 employees, Yang said.

Before founding Next5, Ware was appointed the assistant director of cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a position he held from January 2020 through November 2020, according to his LinkedIn account. He also served as an assistant secretary at DHS for cyber, infrastructure and resilience, and was a senior adviser to the department’s secretary.

“Under Bryan’s leadership, CISA’s operational partnerships with the private sector, national security community and international partners were significantly enhanced,” Louie said in a statement. “This cross-sector collaboration and engagement is necessary as our government and critical infrastructure face growing cyber threats and increasingly sophisticated threat actors.”

The acquisition complements LookingGlass’ suite of cyber solutions for federal and state governments, critical infrastructure organizations and private and public sector entities. In a statement, Ware said he will “deepen” the company’s investments, including applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to cybersecurity cases.

“Now more than ever, organizations need to understand their risk in the context of emerging technologies, greater supply chain dependencies, and an evolving threat landscape, especially as we face heightened geopolitical competition,” Ware said in a statement. “This is why I’m excited to join LookingGlass. Next5’s expert network and business intelligence services combined with LookingGlass’s innovative technologies only strengthens our ability to support our customers’ critical cyber missions.”

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