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Internet security firm Vir-Sec targets Clearwater for headquarters, R&D lab

 
Published Nov. 11, 2014

Vir-Sec, a Maryland software company with high ambitions of revolutionizing Internet security, is considering several locations in the downtown Clearwater area to become its new corporate headquarters and R&D lab.

Vir-Sec founder and majority owner Chris Murphy said his company is beginning to hire up to 50 employees now with expectations of expanding to more than 200 workers by 2018.

"We're coming. It's definitive," said Murphy, who made Tampa Bay his home in 2011 and is eager for a handful of workers from Vir-Sec's Reston, Va., lab and Millersville, Md., offices to join him. "Our goal is to be a part of revitalizing downtown Clearwater."

The move, he said, is driven both by his love of this area and business logic. "The cost of doing business in Reston is one-and-a half times the cost of doing business down here," he said.

Some essential personnel will remain in the Maryland-Washington, D.C. area, but the bulk of operations will be in Clearwater. A leading option is the Bank of America building at Cleveland Street and Garden Avenue, but no lease has been signed.

Founded in 2007, Vir-Sec — short for "virtual security" — markets patented technology that lets users bypass the local computer drive when they go online, instead being able to work in what the company describes as a virtual session in RAM.

A Vir-Sec user has full Internet functionality outside of using a Web browser, Murphy said. That means no security risk from plug-ins, cookies and other browser functions. When a virtual session closes, there is no local record of it, providing an added layer of security from cyber attacks.

"We can remove the public access point to secure data," Murphy said, hailing his software as "a paradigm shift."

The big vision, company president Matt Jack said, is a cyber-world with two different Internets: one for routine tasks such as checking movie times or reading the news; and another powered by Vir-Sec for secure interactions such as banking, buying material online and transferring health records.

Vir-Sec, admittedly, is starting small with less than $1 million in sales last year through government contracts to use its technology in the intelligence community.

Jack's goal is to triple revenues within 18 months by providing cloud-based management services and using its technology for state and local law enforcement and emergency management to securely share information. Vir-Sec also recently received an export license, letting it sell its product for public safety contracts in Central and South America.

Vir-Sec was offered $5.2 million in government tax incentives for the relocation, Murphy said, but has not received formal documentation. The company had sought economic development grants and loans to defray costs of the relocation and buildout.

"We have not heard back," Murphy said. "I hope now that the election has died down there will be time to focus on 'Getting Florida back to work.' "

Open positions range from computer programming and network security to advertising to office personnel. Given the nature of the work, Murphy projected an average salary level of $82,000. Interested applicants may send their resumes to resume@vir-sec.com.

Times researcher Carolyn Edds contributed to this report. Contact Jeff Harrington at jharrington@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3434. Follow @JeffMHarrington.