Hewitt’s CalDorado Group Joins National Cybersecurity Consortium

A California business consultant is among a handful of strategic advisers and government relations experts nationwide who are forming a consortium to help state and local governments fight cyber intrusions.

Mike Hewitt, president of the Sacramento-based CalDorado Group, is the California member of the NightDragon State and Local Advisor Consortium, an entity formed to “help advise and provide technology solutions, policy advice and best practices to state and local government agencies in the wake of a rising number of cyber attacks,” says a news release from NightDragon.

In addition to CalDorado Group, inaugural members of the consortium include KWR Strategies in Texas, Lisa Aaron Consulting in Florida, Brown & Weinraub in New York, and RG Group in New York City. The entity “represents the newest set of services to be delivered through NightDragon Government Services (NDGS), a dedicated public-sector advisory business unit led by Katherine Gronberg,” the company said.

Hewitt advises companies doing business with California state and local government. His client list includes, among others, Adobe, McAfee, Verizon and SAP.

“NightDragon has unparalleled visibility into the latest cyber threats and innovative technologies to address them,” Hewitt says in the release. “We are proud to join this consortium to deliver those insights to state and local agencies and collaborate to ensure they are leveraging the latest technologies to combat today's aggressive threat landscape.”

Master partnership agreements established between NightDragon and the firms within the consortium include “accelerated onboarding and pre-arranged rates,” the release says.

NightDragon is affiliated with other groups and individuals, and it lists as partners and advisers former National Security Agency Director Adm. Michael Rogers; former commander of the U.K. Joint Forces Command Chris Deverell; former commander of the Israel Defense Force’s Technology and Intelligence Unit 8200 Nadav Zafrir; government IT solutions provider Carahsoft; and law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.

“We are excited to see those efforts expand with the new state and local Advisor Consortium and look forward to leveraging its resources to accelerate our business to new heights, as well as help state and local agencies better secure their critical environments,” said Paul Martini, chief executive officer of iboss, a NightDragon portfolio company.

Hewitt’s CalDorado Group has been providing strategic advisory services to technology companies since 2006, with cybersecurity being "a key pillar of our focus,” CalDorado said in a statement. “We have helped dozens of companies accomplish their goal of understanding and successfully partnering with the state of California around their key technology initiatives. Our services include SLED-specific (state, local and education) go-to-market planning, business development, recruiting and training, contract development, and partner development.”