The PGI Solutions Story
Comprehensive Network Information & Forensics for Management & Litigation
J. Michael Knight started Phoenix Group International (PGI) in 1985, after working with high technology in the U.S. Navy. Many government agencies and organizations have requested the company’s assistance with setting and maintaining their networks, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), the Pentagon, the White House, the State Department, and the U.S. Coast Guard. In the private sector, PGI has worked with Iridium, Alyeska Pipeline, Nokia, Motorola, and General Motors, among many others.
Along the way, Michael met and worked with many of the pioneers of computing and networking. The highest levels of experience and expertise became the foundation for the company's development. For example, Sanford H. George, who joined PGI in 1991, helped develop CISCO routers in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), and remains on the standards boards of the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) today. Currently he is also an official ambassador for worldwide IPv6 implementation. While at JPL, Michael and Sanford coordinated their labs to bring emerging technologies to NASA. That is now the model for PGI’s work with other companies on network security and forensics.
Following 9/11, Michael met Thomas Liffiton, at that time a Special Agent with the FBI’s Computer Crime Program in Phoenix. Thomas expressed concern that companies and organizations contacting the FBI as victims of computer attacks did not have and could not afford information security. In 2001, many companies still did not have firewalls to keep intruders out of their servers and workstations. Most had little understanding of what was occurring inside their networks and attached devices. Security was perceived as very costly, and firms did not believe security was important until after they suffered an incident.
Michael thought about these issues and by the end of 2001 registered PGI Solutions, LLC in Arizona to carry forward his vision. With his experience and the computing resources he had available, his solution was to collect massive amounts of network data in real time. That data would be correlated by a Remote Security Management Center (RSMC)TM using a process called Discovery ThreadingTM. The threading connected all related events, and those discovered relationships were compared with rule sets looking for suspicious activity. No device or software agent was placed on a client’s network. The logs were to be pulled directly to the PGI data center at the highly secure University of Southern California High Performance Computing Center (HPCC). Because the networks would be virtual, cost for license fees could be shared between clients. It was an efficient, cost-effective, and secure solution.
At the same time the U.S. Coast Guard approached Michael for assistance with securing a new worldwide, distant learning network for bases and ships. In 2002, PGI implemented RSMC with Discovery ThreadingTM for the government as a proof of concept. The company applied for national and international utility patent protection for RSMC utilizing Discovery ThreadingTM. And as the distant learning network project went forth, the proof of concept worked. The Coast Guard effectively managed its network for health and security, and discovered the data gathered could be used forensically to address network misuse. It worked so well that the Department of Homeland Security sent Michael and Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Helm around the country to explain what they were doing and stimulate the information security industry. PGI Solutions was in the forefront of what would become known as Security Information Management (SIM) and Security Information and Event Management (SIEM).
In 2006, PGI began making its RSMC available to the private sector, and it proved to be effective for both government and enterprise operations. Today PGI Solutions, LLC is going forward with the best SIEM services available, with a focus on compliance reporting and forensics. Because technology and security threats are ever evolving, however, the company is not satisfied only with implementing the best services today. PGI continues to look to the future and is dedicated to developing new ideas and applying new technology to network information management and forensics.
