Leading Defense designs, hardens and operates service-provider-grade networks, secure cloud and identity for federal programs, prime contractors and private-sector operators. Network, cloud and security are engineered as one system, by the engineer who will stand behind them.
Most security failures in large networks are routing and segmentation failures first. We work from the core outward: transport and segmentation, then cloud, identity and the compliance controls layered on top.
Design, build and migration of carrier-class backbones and the private network services that run on them, for carriers, ISPs and enterprises that operate like one.
Firewall and segmentation design that matches how traffic actually flows. Policy cleanup, high availability and encrypted site-to-site transport.
Directory services designed as the control point for every login. Single sign-on, phishing-resistant MFA and zero trust access that replaces flat remote-access VPNs.
Cloud environments built to the same standard as the network. Secure landing zones in AWS and Azure, private cloud, and encrypted, redundant connectivity back to on-premises sites.
CMMC and NIST SP 800-171 readiness built on controls that actually run in the environment, plus risk assessments and continuity and recovery plans that are tested rather than filed.
Subject-matter expertise for agencies, task forces and prime contractors: incident response, planning support and on-site engineering when a program needs it.
Leading Defense is a principal-led practice. The person who scopes the work is the person who writes the config, runs the change window and answers the phone afterward.
Redundant paths, tested failover and documented recovery steps are part of the design from the first diagram, not an add-on.
Routing, segmentation, firewall policy and identity rules all start closed and open only what the mission needs.
Configurations, runbooks and diagrams are delivered in your format, so the network outlasts the engagement.
Engagements range from a two-week assessment to multi-year on-site support under a prime contractor. The sequence stays the same.
Walk the current topology, routing policy and security controls. Find where the documentation and the running config disagree.
A target architecture with migration steps, rollback for each change and the risk each step retires.
Staged changes in maintenance windows, with pre- and post-checks captured for every one.
As-built diagrams, configuration baselines and runbooks, plus a knowledge transfer to the team that owns it.
Every engagement is led and delivered by the firm's principal engineer.
President & Principal Engineer
Matt Nickasch, founder of Leading Defense, has spent more than 15 years as a subject-matter expert in cybersecurity, service provider and ISP network engineering, and intelligence analysis, supporting agencies and task forces across the U.S. government and advising private-sector operators.
Requirements, a statement of work, or a problem that won't stay fixed. A principal engineer replies, usually within one business day.
Leading Defense supports federal programs as a subcontractor to prime contractors and works directly with private-sector operators. Service area is nationwide, with on-site support across the Washington–Baltimore region.