Ashburn managed security provider founded in 2023 named to the Washington Business Journal’s 2026 list
ASHBURN, Va. — Shadowbear, a managed cybersecurity and IT provider for businesses that have no security team of their own, has been ranked No. 35 on the Washington Business Journal’s 2026 list of the Largest Cybersecurity Companies in Greater Washington, published in the Journal’s Aug. 28 issue.
The annual list, compiled by the Journal’s research team with information supplied by the companies, ranks cybersecurity firms across the Washington metropolitan area, one of the deepest cybersecurity markets in the country. Shadowbear, founded in 2023 and based in Ashburn in Loudoun County, appears on the list for the first time.
Shadowbear’s Cyber Defense Suite combines 24/7 managed detection and response, security monitoring, endpoint protection, employee phishing training, vulnerability scanning, and patching in a single per-user subscription, with tiers that add extended log retention, dark web monitoring, and zero-trust network access. The company works mainly with businesses of 10 to 100 employees that handle sensitive information: defense subcontractors meeting NIST SP 800-171 and CMMC obligations, accounting and financial services firms, and other regulated small businesses in Northern Virginia and beyond.
The ranking arrives as security obligations reach smaller firms earlier than ever. Cyber insurance renewals now ask for controls that used to be enterprise requirements, customers send security questionnaires before signing, and defense subcontractors must self-assess against NIST SP 800-171 regardless of company size. For companies in that position, the question is no longer whether to take security seriously but how to do it without hiring a team.
“Most of the companies we protect have no security staff and the same adversaries as a Fortune 500 firm,” said Ian Garrett, founder of Shadowbear. “Being ranked alongside the region’s largest cybersecurity companies three years after we started says something about the demand for protection a small business can actually run on. Our job is for the owner to sleep at night.”
For business owners, the Journal’s list is best read as a map of who does the security work in the region. Most of the companies on it serve federal agencies and large enterprises. Shadowbear’s position on the list reflects a different focus: the businesses that surround those institutions, handle sensitive data for them, and have to meet many of the same standards with none of the same staffing.
Businesses in Northern Virginia can request a free 15-minute Cyber Defense checkup at shadowbear.com/contact. The checkup reviews what a company already pays for, flags overlapping or unused security tools, and identifies the gaps an insurer, auditor, or customer questionnaire would surface.
About Shadowbear
Shadowbear is a veteran-owned managed cybersecurity and IT provider based in Ashburn, Virginia. Its Cyber Defense Suite gives businesses 24/7 managed detection and response, security monitoring, employee phishing training, and compliance support for frameworks including CMMC, NIST SP 800-171, SOC 2, and ISO 27001, with no internal security team required. Shadowbear is a Vanta partner. Learn more at shadowbear.com.
Media contact
Ian Garrett, Founder, Shadowbear
