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Pittsburgh

The Home of Cybersecurity

Heritage of Innovation

Since the earliest days of the Industrial Revolution, Pittsburgh, because of its location at the meeting of 3 rivers, was a central driver of innovation and technology in the United States. The people of Pittsburgh have always been hard-nosed, embracing the grind that progress requires. This mentality is ingrained in the Qintel spirit. 

Embrace the Grind

In the 1970s and 1980s, while many American cities struggled to square old industries with new economies, Pittsburgh focused on technology and information. With its unique blend of blue collar heritage and a deep talent pool of nearly 100,000 top university students in the city, Pittsburgh has proudly, but quietly, become an undeniable force as a hub of innovation in the digital era.  It has remained a foundational channel of talent, innovation, and operations for the rapid growth of technological advancement in Silicon Valley and the constant evolution of global information needs in Washington D.C. Over the last 3 decades the city has become one of the most significant locations in the world for threat intelligence and fighting cybercrime as it is home to the CMU Software Engineering Institute, CERT/CC, National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), Qintel and more.

The Frontier of Cybersecurity

1988
The Birth of CERTFollowing the catastrophic Morris Worm incident—the internet's first major malware outbreak—DARPA directed Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to establish the CERT Coordination Center (CERT/CC). It served as the nation’s very first trusted, 24/7 computer security incident response team.
1991
First Cyber Crimes Task Force The FBI Pittsburgh Field Office formed the world's first cyber crimes task force (later known as the Pittsburgh High-Tech Computer Crimes Task Force). It combined federal, state, and local law enforcement to pool technical investigative resources. This division went on to become the blueprint for the FBI's entire national cyber strategy.
1999
The Birth of Infraguard InfraGard Pittsburgh is a cooperative effort of the FBI Pittsburgh Division and the InfraGard Pittsburgh Members Alliance that provides both formal and informal channels for the exchange of information about our nation’s critical infrastructures and key resources. InfraGard’s continuing mission is to increase information and intelligence sharing between the FBI (and other government agencies) and InfraGard members to strengthen the defense of our nation.
2002
Public-Private IntelligenceThe National Cyber-Forensics & Training Alliance (NCFTA) was founded in Pittsburgh. Operating as a non-profit, the NCFTA pioneered a neutral zone where private corporations, academic tech pools, and international law enforcement agencies could securely share threat intelligence.
2003
A leader in Cyber education: CMU first offers a Master’s Degree in Information Security in close coordination with CERT.
2004
Academic Excellence: The University of Pittsburgh is designated a Center of Academic Excellence in Information Assurance Education by NSA and DHS.
2008
The DarkMarket Takedown An undercover operation led by FBI Pittsburgh's cyber squad infiltrated and entirely seized DarkMarket, the internet's largest illicit digital marketplace for stolen credit card data at the time. Undercover agents gathered massive amounts of criminal and nation-state intelligence before completely dismantling the network.
2011
BotNet TakedownFBI's Pittsburgh division executes a criminal seizure warrant as part of the most complete enforcement action ever taken by U.S. authorities to disable an international botnet.
2013
A Dynasty BeginsCMU’s Plaid Parliament of Pwning student hackers club first wins DEF CON’s Capture the Flag Competition. The team will go on to be the winningest in the competition’s history with it’s 9th win in 2026 out of the competition’s 13 year history.
2014
Operation TovarFBI's Pittsburgh division begins Operation Tovar, leading to the seizure of international criminal infrastructure and the indictment of the Russians responsible for Gameover ZeuS.
2014
First Nation-State Cyber Indictments: Working alongside U.S. Attorney David Hickton, the Pittsburgh squad made history by issuing the first-ever criminal indictments against foreign nation-state actors—specifically targeting members of the Chinese military for economic cyber espionage.
2015
Darkode Dismantled: The computer hacking forum known as Darkode was dismantled, and criminal charges have been filed in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere against 12 individuals associated with the forum, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton of the Western District of Pennsylvania and Deputy Director Mark F. Giuliano of the FBI.
2017
Pitt Cyber Emerges: The University of Pittsburgh formally established the Institute for Cyber Law, Policy, and Security
2018
First Indictments of GRU actors: As a result of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Divisions investigations, U.S Federal Grand Jury from western Pennsylvania In October 2018 indicted seven Russian men, all GRU officers. The indictment states that from December 2014 until a least May 2018, the GRU officers conspired to conduct "persistent and sophisticated computer intrusions affecting U.S. persons, corporate entities, international organizations, and their respective employees located around the world, based on their strategic interest to the Russian government."
2019
Here comes the US Army: The US Army’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force is stood up based out of the National Robotics Engineering Center in Pittsburgh. With the NREC as its base, the task force consists of several small teams of military personnel that will develop prototypes and do long-term research at the direction of the Army Futures Command.
2023
AI Security Frontlines:CMU's Software Engineering Institute established the nation's premier Artificial Intelligence Security Incident Response Team (AISIRT) to specifically counter large language model jailbreaks, prompt injections, and vulnerabilities targeting the Department of Defense
2025
Academic Excellence continues:The University of Pittsburgh is designated a Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Research by NSA and DHS.
2026
Elite Defense Contracts:Highlighting the area's continued dominance, the homegrown Pittsburgh threat intelligence firm Qintel was awarded a $84 million contract with U.S. Cyber Command (USCC) to provide full-spectrum threat intelligence to the nation's military cyber warriors.

The Torch Bearers

In the 1970s and 1980s, while many American cities struggled to square old industries with new economies, Pittsburgh focused on technology and information. With its unique blend of blue collar heritage and a deep talent pool of nearly 100,000 top university students in the city, Pittsburgh has proudly, but quietly, become an undeniable force as a hub of innovation in the digital era.  It has remained a foundational channel of talent, innovation, and operations for the rapid growth of technological advancement in Silicon Valley and the constant evolution of global information needs in Washington D.C. Over the last 3 decades the city has become one of the most significant locations in the world for threat intelligence and fighting cybercrime as it is home to the CMU Software Engineering Institute, CERT/CC, National Cyber Forensics and Training Alliance (NCFTA), Qintel and more.

Come to Pittsburgh

Do you want to help us illuminate the deep from the most innovative city in cybersecurity?

We’re hiring highly skilled and passionate people to join our mission and help illuminate the deep leaving cyber adversaries nowhere to hide.

We hire in Pittsburgh and remotely.

Apply here