50 Most Admired Companies of the Year 2021
The Silicon Review
Seldom do you find companies in the security sphere that are people-centric and focused on providing what’s best for the community. A Virginia-based high-growth business, Two Six Technologies, has set out to do precisely this under the leadership of Joe Logue (CEO). The company was founded to have a positive impact across the globe. Two Six Technologies’ work today consistently addresses the urgent human security challenges that affect the world’s most vulnerable people.
With a technical presence in 40 countries across the globe, Two Six Technologies provides leading technology solutions for national security and human security. The company’s areas of expertise cyber and space operations, data science, information operations, intelligence and decision support, microelectronics, and nextgen communications.. Some of its major customers include DARPA, the Department of State, U.S. Cyber Command, the Department of Homeland Security, and other Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community members.
Two Six Technologies creates and deploys systems at the cutting edge of modern technical possibility and aggressively focuses its efforts on transitioning R&D concepts into real, practical, and fielded technology. Two Six Technologies’ teams work closely with its clients, enabling rapid feedback and iterative design to swiftly respond and improve its products and satisfy the customer’s evolving needs.
We talked to Joe Logue, CEO of Two Six Technologies, to know more about what the company does uniquely. Joe also spoke to us about the importance of partnerships in what Two Six Technologies does. Read on for the excerpts from the interview.
Q. How does Two Six Technologies help the world’s vulnerable populations and their security?
Two Six Technologies has always focused on national security issues, and many of our efforts support and protect vulnerable populations around the world. Our information operations efforts and our Pulse product are specifically built to answer questions for, and to provide communication with vulnerable and underserved populations in areas of the world that are extremely difficult to communicate with.
Some of the applications of this technology have included opening lines of communication with populations affected by war or natural disasters, utilizing data to assist with disrupting human trafficking, gathering COVID-19 data, and working with NGOs protecting vulnerable populations.
Q. What makes Two Six unique?
Two Six Technologies creates high-tech, high-impact solutions through rapid iterative design. Our world-class teams of engineers and scientists build systems and create solutions for complex and difficult national and human security challenges. We deliver specialized expertise and innovative products to fulfill immediate, pressing needs from customers, and we transition concepts from pure R&D to fielded operational tools. We continuously work to fulfill project requirements for which there are no existing solutions or products, from research and rapid prototyping to field operations and supported deployments. Our design efforts react swiftly to customer and client feedback, iterating and improving systems based on real-world field usage by operators, including first responders and warfighters.
Q. Could you tell us about your Information Operations and its importance?
Our Information Operations team specializes in communicating with hard-to-reach groups of people in areas of the world that are difficult to access and often underserved with communication tools and resources. We have worked in the past with vital organizations such as the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, seeking to address urgent human security issues.
Q. Tell us about the company’s work culture. How do you help your employees grow?
We are blessed to have a team of outstanding people who are both incredibly talented and passionate about the critical missions of national security. We encourage our staff to both pursue excellence in their own fields, and to share that knowledge publicly to encourage growth in the field as a whole. Our engineers and developers are recognized as thought-leaders in their areas of expertise. They regularly publish research papers in scientific journals, release open-source software, contribute to publications, write articles and blog posts, and attend and speak at industry conferences.
We also support our staff to participate in hackathons and events for good causes, act as a sponsor for select groups providing information and access to STEM resources for underserved and underrepresented groups, and participate in an annual day of service for all of our staff to support local causes and charities.
Q. How important are collaborations/partnerships to Two Six Technologies?
Two Six Technologies regularly works with partners on major projects, including peers in the industry and Universities. Collaboration, communication, and partnerships are very important for the work we do, as we are often sharing information with very knowledgeable specialists in difficult and technical fields. Another aspect of this is our work with field operators and end-users to refine systems and concepts. Close partnerships are necessary when building systems for which there are no existing blueprints! Additionally, we provide our employees with financial support and incentives for continuing advanced education efforts, technical training, publications, and more.
Q. How did you help out since the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic? How have you innovated to adapt?
Two Six Technologies has been extremely proactive in addressing the pandemic. Our company transitioned to remote work very early in 2020, and kept only mandatory staff on-site for necessary operations.
We continue to follow federal, state, and local guidance from health professionals, and carefully track in-person visitation and attendance in our shared workspaces.
We have been flexible with our staff schedules, recognizing the demands on families with children at home and other needs, and have provided direct support to all staff for establishing productive and comfortable home offices, including all necessary hardware, software, and secure infrastructure to allow for uninterrupted and secure work from all teams across the country.
As a result of our efforts, our employees remain safe and productive, our customers and clients continue to have their needs met comprehensively, and Two Six Technologies has grown significantly during this time.
Q. What does the road ahead look like for Two Six Technologies?
Two Six Technologies works on a very broad spectrum of cybersecurity technology with an amazing array of partners and an incredibly talented staff. Exciting is, without exaggeration, our daily norm.
Some of our efforts in the last year have included our teams helping with COVID research efforts, exploring privacy enhancements for mobile devices and security enhancements for machine learning systems, protecting metropolitan areas from radiological and other threats, and providing aid to NGOs protecting vulnerable populations. We continue to develop our publicly available products such as Pulse, 8Wire, IKE, and Sigma, and work with our partners and clients on fulfilling both cutting edge R&D projects and missions with immediate time sensitive needs and operational systems.
Two Six Technologies continues to grow and expand, and is always looking for more top-quality talent. We continue to add specialized experts in all fields as well as respected security veterans to our senior team, and are expanding our national presence with new offices, new employees, and new partnerships.
The Leader
Joe Logue, CEO
Before Two Six Technologies, Joe spent over 20 years at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led teams of thousands internationally, supporting the Defense and Intelligence communities. Joe continues his leadership at Two Six Technologies, building a next-generation national security company capable of rapidly productizing R&D concepts and getting them in the hands of users where they are needed most.