Risk Control Strategies

What Risk Control Strategies does

Risk Control Strategies (RCS) is a privately held, founder-owned professional services firm headquartered in Westlake Village, California, with a secondary office in Granbury, Texas. Founded in 2003 by Douglas R. Kane, a 27-year FBI veteran and former member of the FBI Hostage Rescue Team, the firm delivers investigative, security, and cyber services to three primary client segments: law firms (500+ retained nationwide for civil litigation support), corporate clients (security, due diligence, and intellectual property protection), and private high-net-worth individuals (executive protection, travel security, and discreet investigations). The firm operates with 11–50 employees and is staffed predominantly by former FBI, military, and law-enforcement personnel, with senior leadership including CEO John Troxel, President Anna M. Winningham (former FBI Supervisory Special Agent, CISSP-certified), and Senior Vice President Donald Ackerman (32-year FBI veteran).

RCS's service portfolio is organized into three interconnected divisions: Cyber Services (advisory, managed services, crisis management, network protection, and digital forensics leveraging tools such as Cellebrite, FTK, and Axiom), Intel & Investigations (due diligence, background investigations, surveillance, and workplace violence services), and Security Advisory Services (vulnerability assessments, threat management, executive protection, Technical Surveillance Countermeasures/TSCM, and outsourced virtual CISO/CSO advisory). The TSCM capability is a distinctive offering, providing eavesdropping detection in offices, boardrooms, homes, vehicles, and aircraft using state-of-the-art equipment. In 2024, RCS expanded its cyber-forensics capability through the merger of Verdict Resources Inc. into the firm.

The business model is fee-for-service professional services, with engagements structured as either project-based assignments or retainer-based advisory relationships; pricing is custom and quote-based, with TSCM inspections starting at $4,000 per sweep. RCS maintains no public API, software product, or self-serve channel. Distribution is entirely direct and consultative, driven by content marketing (blog and newsletter published through 2026), referrals from law firm partners (notably Quinn Emanuel and Alston & Bird), and high-touch outreach to corporate and private clients. Multi-jurisdictional licensure — California Private Investigator (#24594), California PPO (#14908), and Texas Private Security (A31123901) — enables delivery across multiple U.S. states.

Name

Risk Control Strategies

Legal name

Risk Control Strategies

Website

https://riskcontrolstrategies.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Risk Control Strategies is a privately held professional services firm delivering investigative, cyber, and security services to law firms, corporations, and high-net-worth individuals, staffed by former FBI, military, and law-enforcement professionals across offices in California and Texas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Westlake Village

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Professional Services (Investigations & Security): Fee-for-service professional services including investigations, security consulting, cyber services, and executive protection. Engagements range from project-based assignments to retainer-based advisory relationships.
2. Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (TSCM): Eavesdropping countermeasures inspections and IT audits billed at fixed starting price points ($4,000+ per inspection).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Risk Control Strategies (RCS) is a professional services firm delivering investigations, threat management, security consulting, and cyber services. Its offerings span three core service lines: Cyber Services (advisory, managed services, crisis management, digital forensics, and incident response); Intel & Investigations (discreet intelligence gathering, due diligence, background investigations, workplace violence services); and Security Advisory Services (vulnerability assessments, executive protection, outsourced CISO/CSO advisory, and TSCM inspections). Services are tailored to three client segments: law firms, corporate clients, and private (high-net-worth) clients.

Product overview

Risk Control Strategies (RCS) is a professional services firm that operates as a unified platform of investigative, security, and cyber services rather than a modular software product. Since 2003, RCS has provided a comprehensive suite of services organized into three interconnected divisions: Cyber Services (end-to-end cyber security including advisory, managed services, crisis management, network protection, and digital forensics), Intel & Investigations (discreet intelligence gathering, due diligence, background investigations, and workplace violence services), and Security Advisory Services (vulnerability assessments, threat management, executive protection, and outsourced CISO/CSO advisory). These services are delivered to three primary client segments: law firms, corporate clients, and private clients. The company is staffed by former FBI, law enforcement, and military personnel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cyber Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1,000 companies and private individuals served since 2003.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• FTI Consulting: FTI's Forensic & Litigation Consulting segment competes head-to-head with RCS on digital forensics, investigations, and expert witness work for law firms, while operating across a much broader corporate advisory portfolio.
• The Chertoff Group: The Chertoff Group provides security and risk management advisory led by former senior government officials, competing with RCS for high-end corporate security consulting and CISO/CSO advisory mandates.
• Pinkerton: Pinkerton is a long-standing investigations and protective services firm with corporate investigations, due diligence, and executive protection offerings that compete directly with RCS, but at significantly larger scale.
• Berkeley Research Group: BRG's Expert Services and Investigations practice competes with RCS on digital forensics, cyber investigations, and expert witness work for major law firm clients, within a much larger consulting platform.

Direct peers

• Kroll: Kroll is a global investigations, risk advisory, and security firm offering background investigations, due diligence, cyber response, and executive protection — directly overlapping RCS's core service lines but at materially larger scale and geographic reach.
• Nardello & Co. Nardello & Co. is a global investigations firm specializing in due diligence, background checks, and digital forensics for law firms and corporations — a strong direct comparable on the investigations and due diligence service line.
• Hillard Heintze: Hillard Heintze (a Jensen Hughes company) offers security risk advisory, investigations, and protective services to corporate and private clients, closely mirroring RCS's threat management and security advisory offerings.
• Guidepost Solutions: Guidepost Solutions provides investigations, security consulting, and monitoring services to corporations, law firms, and high-net-worth individuals — a strong comparable given similar former-government talent base and overlapping service catalog.
• Control Risks: Control Risks delivers security consulting, investigations, due diligence, and crisis management to corporations and law firms — a near-direct competitor, particularly on executive protection and threat management engagements.

Emerging players

• Bishop Fox: Bishop Fox is a cybersecurity firm offering offensive security, incident response, and digital forensics — an emerging competitor on RCS's cyber-services side, particularly for corporate clients needing technical security depth.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Risk Control Strategies