About Us

Origin + Mission

Established in 2012 & based out of Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, Earthling Security is certified by the Small Business Administration as an 8(a) Small \ Disadvantaged, Minority owned business. Earthling Security is an end-to-end solutions provider focusing on Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Automation, and Compliance. We offer highly skilled professional services, independent security assessments, and secure managed cloud hosting.
Our team delivers strategic cloud, security, and automation solutions to ensure business objectives & goals. Earthling Security offers advanced & creative technologies with tested & proven methodologies for cost-effective solutions. Our team has a unique blend of skills, including Information Assurance, Cybersecurity, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, DevOps, and Cloud Computing. This dynamic combination enables us to deliver successful solutions & provide optimized, secure, compliant cloud hosting.

Our Inception Story

In the age of digital transformation and modernization, private enterprise and government embraced the cloud for its speed and scalability, but security and efficiency remained fragmented, reactive, and dangerously manual.
Businesses and governments struggled with misconfigurations, compliance failures, and slow response times to cyber threats. Enter Earthling Security, a company founded on the belief that cloud security and automation should be seamless, intelligent, and self-sustaining.

    The Spark of Innovation

    The idea for Earthling came from Yusuf H. Ahmed, a former lead security engineer, architect, and advisor with over 25 years of security experience in the private & public sectors. In 2011, the United States government issued the Cloud First Initiative to motivate federal agencies to adopt cloud services as part of the modernization effort within the federal government. This initiative spawned several government contract awards to cloud service providers. While working on a contract to build a security operations center & compliance center of excellence program, Yusuf envisioned a self-learning security automation platform & compliant managed security service.

    Accreditation & Trust

    Because Earthling’s first contract was materialized out of the General Services Administration, it was one of the first firms to become an accredited FedRAMP Third Party Assessment Organization (3PAO). From there, Earthling worked closely with companies like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, GCI Federal, and others. As a natural progression, the Earthling team became experts at cloud compliance, security architecture, and operations.

    Building the Future

    Earthling Security wasn’t just another cloud security company —it was built to merge compliance with engineering & automation in the cloud. It is intended to eliminate manual processes, integrate seamlessly into cloud environments, and automate security at every layer. Powered by cutting-edge automation, cloud security expertise, and eventually artificial intelligence.

    A Revolution in Cloud Automation & Managed Services

    With a small team of engineers & an unwavering mission, they built the first prototype— an automated security engine with security controls baked into cloud environments. The solution monitored cloud environments in real-time, adapting to threats faster than any human team could. After months of sleepless nights & self-funded development, Earthling Security landed its first major client—a financial institution desperate to secure its hybrid cloud infrastructure.
    From that moment on, Earthling Security became the gold standard in cloud-native managed security & compliance automation. Now, Earthling Security secures millions of cloud transactions every day, ensuring that security concerns don’t slow down innovation. With Earthling Security, the cloud isn’t just fast—it’s intelligent, self-healing, and always one step ahead.

    Leadership

    Yusuf Ahmed
    Yusuf Ahmed

    Chief Executive
    Officer

    Melissa Romero
    Melissa Romero

    Executive Support
    & Strategy Specialist

    Sean Estrada
    Sean Estrada

    Director
    of Programs

    Jon Riddle
    Jon Riddle

    Manager of Compliance
    & Assessment Services

    Jamal Ahmed
    Jamal Ahmed

    Chief Solutions
    Architect & Advisor

    The Name behind the Brand

    We chose the name Earthling Security because we see humanity as one, united beyond nations, cultures, and divisions. As Earthlings, we share a single home, and securing that home means protecting not just systems and data, but the people and communities that depend on them. Our name reflects our belief in a connected world, where security is a collective effort to safeguard our shared future. At Earthling Security, we are committed to securing one world for all Earthlings.
    Our mission is to protect not just data and systems, but humanity and the world we share. As Earthlings, we are one people on a single planet, and security in today’s interconnected age is about more than just technology—it’s about safeguarding the very fabric of our societies. Security threats, whether digital or physical, have global consequences, and we believe in a future where protection is universal, borderless, and inclusive. Our name reflects this vision: a commitment to securing our world, protecting people, and ensuring a safer, more resilient future for all.

    Mission Statement:

    To provide high-quality managed & automated services to help customers reduce cost & risk while pursuing their business objectives. To achieve our mission, Earthling drives to establish automated & compliant security & compliance solutions. We automate an organization's entire security & compliance lifecycle & its systems. From strategy to system design & deployment & from compliant security operations to accreditation, Earthling supports the whole process of compliance & security management. The compliance life-cycle can begin with designing or retrospectively securing a product environment based on regulatory control requirements. The life cycle progresses into the continuous monitoring & security operations phase & flows into audit management to ensure compliance validation & ultimately authorization, certification, or accreditation.

    Company Values:

    Our corporate culture is built on the 7 core values of maturity, innovation, integrity, service excellence, empathy, collaboration, & customer-centricity. These principles guide every decision we make & interaction we have. We encourage team members to practice open communication, embrace constructive feedback, & move fast & break old molds in our journey to provide the best services in the world. We foster an environment where creativity meets accountability, enabling us to stay ahead of industry trends while maintaining ethical standards. We are a transparent, customer-focused team that collaboratively gets things done, constantly seeking ways to exceed expectations & deliver meaningful results that create lasting value for our clients.