Cybersecurity Directory: Purpose and Scope

The cybersecurity services sector in the United States encompasses thousands of licensed vendors, credentialed practitioners, compliance consultants, and technology providers operating across overlapping regulatory frameworks enforced by agencies including NIST, CISA, FTC, HHS, and the DoD. This directory catalogs that landscape with reference-grade specificity — mapping provider categories, qualification standards, and regulatory jurisdictions so that professionals, procurement officers, and researchers can locate and evaluate services without navigating fragmented vendor marketing. The scope spans cryptographic infrastructure, managed security services, compliance assessment, and adjacent technical disciplines, each carrying distinct licensing expectations and standards-body requirements.

Relationship to Other Network Resources

This directory functions as the structured index layer of encryptionauthority.com. The technical reference content — explanations of protocols, algorithm taxonomies, and compliance frameworks — lives in the site's reference library, accessible through pages such as Encryption Types and Algorithms and NIST Cryptographic Guidelines. The directory itself does not explain cryptographic concepts; it maps the service providers, certifying organizations, and professional categories that operate within those technical domains.

Researchers requiring definitional grounding before evaluating listings should consult the Glossary of Encryption Terms, which provides NIST-aligned definitions drawn from NIST SP 800-175B and FIPS publications. Practitioners evaluating compliance-aligned vendors will find the regulatory framework context in the compliance section of the reference library, including FIPS 140 Encryption Standards, HIPAA Encryption Requirements, and PCI DSS Encryption Requirements.

The relationship between these layers is intentional: directory listings reference technical and regulatory standards by name, and those named standards link outward to the reference pages where definitions, mechanism descriptions, and statutory citations are maintained. This separation prevents the directory from becoming a tutorial resource while keeping listings meaningful to readers who need context.

How to Interpret Listings

Each listing in this directory is classified according to a structured taxonomy with four primary axes:

1. Service category — the functional type of service provided (e.g., managed encryption-as-a-service, PKI certificate authority, hardware security module vendor, cryptographic audit firm, compliance assessment provider)
2. Credential and certification basis — the industry certifications or government-recognized qualifications the provider holds, such as CMMC Certified Third-Party Assessment Organization (C3PAO) status, FedRAMP authorization level, or FIPS 140-2/140-3 validation status from the Cryptographic Module Validation Program (CMVP) administered by NIST and CCCS
3. Regulatory jurisdiction — the applicable compliance frameworks under which the provider operates or for which the provider delivers services, including FISMA, HIPAA, PCI DSS, SOC 2, and state-level frameworks such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)
4. Technology scope — the specific cryptographic or security technologies within the provider's operational domain, such as Public Key Infrastructure, Hardware Security Modules, End-to-End Encryption, or Post-Quantum Cryptography

A listing appearing under "PKI and Certificate Authority Services" is distinct from one appearing under "Encryption Key Management" even where product overlap exists. The classification reflects the provider's primary service offering and the regulatory standards most directly applicable to that offering — not a comprehensive capability inventory. Readers should treat category boundaries as jurisdictional starting points, not exhaustive definitions.

Purpose of This Directory

The cybersecurity services market generated over $80 billion in annual revenue in the United States as tracked by public market analysis firms, yet no single federal registry consolidates vendor qualifications, certification statuses, and regulatory alignments into one searchable reference. The FedRAMP Marketplace (marketplace.fedramp.gov) covers cloud service providers seeking federal authorization; the CMVP (csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-module-validation-program) validates cryptographic modules; the CMMC Accreditation Body maintains assessment organization registries. Each registry serves a narrow function.

This directory aggregates across those distinct registries and credential systems to serve procurement professionals, compliance officers, legal and technical researchers, and institutional buyers who operate across more than one regulatory context simultaneously. An organization subject to both HIPAA and PCI DSS, for example, requires vendors whose qualifications map across both frameworks — a match that no single agency registry is structured to surface.

The directory also distinguishes between providers by service model: a vendor offering Bring Your Own Key Encryption in cloud environments operates under a materially different service model than one managing Hardware Security Modules on-premises, even when both appear under a general "encryption services" label in other indexes.

What Is Included

The directory covers the following primary service sectors within US cybersecurity:

• Cryptographic infrastructure providers — Certificate authorities, PKI service operators, HSM vendors, and key management platforms. Relevant credential baseline: FIPS 140-2 or 140-3 validation per CMVP.
• Managed security service providers (MSSPs) — Organizations delivering ongoing monitoring, incident response, and encryption management under contractual SLAs. Relevant credential baseline: SOC 2 Type II, FedRAMP authorization where applicable.
• Compliance assessment and audit firms — Qualified Security Assessors (QSAs) under PCI SSC, HIPAA privacy and security assessors, and CMMC C3PAOs. Each category carries distinct accreditation from the governing standards body.
• Encryption software and platform vendors — Products covering Full Disk Encryption, Database Encryption Methods, Email Encryption Standards, and VPN Encryption Protocols.
• Cryptographic consulting and advisory services — Firms providing algorithm migration planning, Post-Quantum Cryptography readiness assessment, and cryptographic audit under NIST SP 800-57 and related guidance.

The directory excludes general IT services firms without demonstrable cryptographic or cybersecurity specialization, providers operating exclusively outside US regulatory jurisdiction, and products that have not achieved or applied for relevant standards-body recognition where such recognition is a baseline industry expectation. Export-controlled cryptographic services subject to EAR Part 740 (ecfr.gov) are noted where applicable but are not excluded on that basis alone.

For navigational guidance on using the listings structure effectively, consult How to Use This Cybersecurity Resource. Active listings are maintained at Cybersecurity Listings.