ISAO Standards Organization

What ISAO Standards Organization does

The ISAO Standards Organization is a non-governmental, non-profit standards body established on October 1, 2015 and led by the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), with founding support from LMI and the R-CISC. Headquartered at UTSA's Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security in San Antonio, Texas, the organization develops standards, guidelines, and frameworks that enable Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs), Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), and government entities to share cybersecurity risks, incidents, and best practices more effectively.

Its core product is the ISAO 100-1 series and related published guideline documents, supported by a resource library, a centralized enrollment directory of information sharing groups, project-based working groups (including International and Government Relations groups), and the annual International Information Sharing Conference (IISC). The organization also delivers an 8-hour no-cost "Establishing an ISAO" course through the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), drawing on a volunteer community of roughly 200 experts from industry, academia, government, and the military.

Its business model is mission-driven rather than commercially aggressive. Most outputs — published guidelines, the resource library, the enrollment listing, and the training course — are provided at no cost, with monetization limited to conference registration fees (e.g., $25 per attendee for the 2020 virtual IISC) and emerging vendor marketplace participation. The go-to-market is community-led: the organization recruits volunteer experts into working groups, enrolls information sharing organizations into its directory, and reaches audiences through its website, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, and the annual IISC event.

Name

ISAO Standards Organization

Legal name

ISAO Standards Organization

Website

https://isao.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The ISAO Standards Organization is a U.S. non-profit standards body, led by UTSA since 2015, that publishes guidelines and runs working groups, an enrollment directory, training, and an annual conference to help ISAOs, ISACs, and government entities share cybersecurity information more effectively.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cybersecurity Standards & Guidelines

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Standards Development & Publishing (SDOs, Technical Standards) (MPAJACAB)

Keywords

• Cybersecurity information sharing
• Threat intelligence standards
• Incident response coordination
• Public-private partnerships
• Information sharing organizations

Headquarters

HQ city

San Antonio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration: The organization hosts the International Information Sharing Conference (IISC) annually, charging registration fees. Example: $25 per person for virtual 2020 IISC conference.
2. Educational Programs: Free online courses such as the 8-hour 'Establishing an ISAO' course delivered through TEEX (Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service). No cost to participants.
3. Organization Enrollment Services: Provides enrollment services for new and established ISAOs, ISACs, and other information sharing organizations. The enrollment creates visibility within the community and connects organizations with tools, events, and support opportunities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ISAO Standards Organization develops and publishes standards, guidelines, and frameworks that enable Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations (ISAOs) to be created and operated effectively for cybersecurity risk, incident, and best-practice sharing. Its core deliverables include the ISAO 100-1 foundational document series, working group–produced standards, a resource library, an organizational enrollment directory, free training (8-hour 'Establishing an ISAO' course via TEEX), advisory support services for new and existing ISAOs, and the annual International Information Sharing Conference (IISC).

Product overview

ISAO Standards Organization is a non-governmental organization (established October 1, 2015) led by the University of Texas at San Antonio that develops standards and guidelines for cybersecurity information sharing. The organization operates as a standards body rather than a software product company, offering a portfolio of published guideline documents (including ISAO 100-1), working groups for standards development, resource libraries, enrollment services for information sharing groups, an 8-hour training course on TEEX, and annual conferences. The core offering centers on establishing frameworks and guidelines that enable communities of interest to voluntarily share cyber threat information to improve national cybersecurity posture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ISAO 100-1: Introduction to Information Sharing and Analysis Organizations

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved national cybersecurity posture through robust information sharing standards

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTSA serves as the lead organization for ISAO Standards Organization. UTSA has a national reputation for innovation in cybersecurity programs, exercises, competitions, and training, especially with sectors, states, and communities. The organization is headquartered at UTSA and the Center for Infrastructure Assurance and Security (CIAS) at UTSA is referenced as part of the organizational ecosystem.
• LMIsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerLMI provides support to the ISAO Standards Organization as part of the organizational structure. LMI is referenced alongside UTSA and R-CISC as supporting the mission of improving the Nation's cybersecurity posture.
• R-CISCsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerR-CISC (Regional Coalition for Information Sharing) provides support to the ISAO Standards Organization. R-CISC is part of the collaborative effort to identify standards and guidelines for effective cybersecurity information sharing.
• TEEX (Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerTEEX delivers the 8-hour 'Establishing an ISAO' online course at no cost. This partnership provides educational content for organizations looking to establish new ISAOs.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ISACA: Global professional association that develops and publishes cybersecurity and IT governance frameworks, standards, and certifications. Directly comparable as a standards-developing and member-serving organization for cybersecurity practitioners.
• National Council of ISACs: Umbrella body coordinating the U.S. sector-specific ISACs. Comparable as an organizing layer for information sharing organizations of the type ISAO SO establishes standards for.
• Health-ISAC (H-ISAC): Health-sector ISAC enabling cyber and physical threat information sharing among healthcare organizations. Directly comparable as a member-based information sharing organization operating under the broader ISAO framework.
• FS-ISAC: Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center — a sector-specific ISAC for cyber threat sharing among financial institutions. Comparable as an information sharing organization that ISAO SO's guidelines are designed to support.
• Center for Internet Security (CIS): Non-profit that develops widely adopted security benchmarks and controls (CIS Critical Security Controls, CIS Benchmarks). Comparable as a community-driven, non-commercial standards body publishing authoritative cybersecurity guidance.
• Forum of Incident Response and Security Teams (FIRST): Global association of incident response and security teams that develops standards, best practices, and tooling (e.g., CVSS, PSIRT services framework). Comparable as an international convener producing standards for cyber incident response and information sharing.

Others

• SANS Institute: Provider of cybersecurity training, certifications, and research that operates adjacent to ISAO SO's educational mission (e.g., the free TEEX-hosted ISAO course). Comparable as a training and community-building pillar in the same cybersecurity ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• OASIS Open: International standards and open-source consortium developing cybersecurity and other technical standards (e.g., STIX/TAXII, SAML). Comparable as an established, multi-stakeholder SDO whose information-sharing standards directly overlap ISAO SO's scope.
• (ISC)²: Global non-profit certifying body for cybersecurity professionals (CISSP, etc.). Comparable as an established cybersecurity standards and credentialing non-profit serving a similar community-driven mandate, though focused on individuals rather than information sharing orgs.
• NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology): U.S. government agency that publishes foundational cybersecurity frameworks (NIST CSF, SP 800 series). Comparable as the upstream standards authority whose frameworks often anchor the work of organizations like ISAO SO.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/isao_so
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/isao-standards-organization

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ISAO Standards Organization