Threat Unknown was founded by security engineers from Amazon and Robinhood. We built and operated infrastructure protecting millions of users and billions in transactions. We know what serious security looks like.
We kept seeing the same pattern: startups and growing companies getting hit for the same preventable reasons. Not because they didn't care. The tools available were either too expensive, too complex, or too passive. Reports that nobody acted on. Alerts with no one to fix them.
So we built what we wished existed. An AI platform that does the ongoing work and brings in our engineers when judgment is needed. Big-tech security practices, accessible to any team.
EST. 2024 · TORONTO, CANADA
We implement, configure, and ship. Every recommendation comes with working infrastructure behind it.
Details matter. From IAM policies to network segmentation, we get the specifics right the first time.
Security controls integrate with your existing stack. We design for how your teams actually work.
We think like attackers to build defenses that hold under real pressure.
Security that enables your engineering team, not a gate that blocks releases.
You see exactly what agents find, what they change, and why. No black boxes.
Two founders, one thesis. Real security outcomes come from people who have built and defended systems under pressure, not from another dashboard. Here's who's behind Threat Unknown.
Michael Smith is Founder and CEO of Threat Unknown. Previously a Senior Security Engineer at Amazon and Robinhood, he spent years building and operating infrastructure protecting millions of users and billions in transactions. He started Threat Unknown to bring that big-tech security rigor to startups and growing companies: an AI platform that does the ongoing work and brings in engineers when real judgment is needed.
Keelan Lothian-Williams is Co-Founder and Sales & Business Development Lead at Threat Unknown, helping organizations understand and manage their cybersecurity risk. He spent years in risk, underwriting, and business development at Fortune 500 companies before co-founding Threat Unknown. Keelan is also a commissioned Logistics Officer and Captain in the Army Reserve, bringing over a decade of leadership and operational experience to his work.