Tiversa

Tiversa was an American cybersecurity company founded in 2004 by Robert Boback, a former chiropractor and real-estate entrepreneur. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it began as a small two-person operation and developed a business around discovering exposed information on peer-to-peer networks and other parts of the internet that were not readily indexed or accessible through ordinary web browsing. The company marketed its capabilities to organizations concerned about data leakage, compromised systems, and the exposure of confidential files. Its principal technology was EagleVision X1, a monitoring and investigation platform designed to search the deep web, including file-sharing networks, for sensitive corporate or personal information. Tiversa presented this activity as a way for businesses to identify possible breaches and take steps to reduce cybersecurity risk. Reported customers included Capital One, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and American Express. The company also assembled a prominent advisory group that included Maynard Webb, Howard Schmidt, and Wesley Clark, helping it establish credibility in the security and technology sectors. Tiversa attracted national attention in 2009 after claiming that it had identified sensitive information connected with Marine One, the U.S. president's helicopter, on a peer-to-peer network. The company said the material had reached Iran and attributed the exposure to a defense-contractor employee's household computer. The allegation generated extensive coverage, but its reliability was later challenged by a former Tiversa employee, Richard Wallace, who alleged that the company had fabricated or manipulated evidence. Robert Boback denied the accusation. The most consequential controversy involved LabMD, a medical testing laboratory. Tiversa contacted LabMD in 2008 and reportedly offered monitoring services after claiming to have found evidence of a serious data exposure. After LabMD declined the service, information concerning the alleged breach was provided to the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC later pursued an enforcement action against LabMD. In 2014, an administrative law judge dismissed the complaint, finding that the evidence supplied by Tiversa was not sufficiently reliable. Wallace, who became a whistleblower, claimed that he had created or manipulated data used in Tiversa's investigations and testified that similar fabrication had occurred in work involving numerous companies. The episode led to significant litigation, regulatory scrutiny, and a federal criminal investigation into whether Tiversa had deliberately supplied false breach information to government authorities. Tiversa acquired Corporate Armor, a U.S. IT-security provider, in August 2016. In June 2017, Kroll Inc. acquired Tiversa, and Kroll retained employees to maintain Tiversa's investigation systems. Publicly available information indicated that the system was still operating in 2019, although the subsequent status of the Tiversa brand and business is unclear. Tiversa's history therefore combines an early deep-web monitoring proposition with a later reputation crisis centered on the reliability of its breach claims and investigative evidence.

Tiversa was established in 2004 in Pittsburgh by Robert Boback, who had previously worked as a chiropractor and real-estate entrepreneur. The company started with two people and focused on a relatively specialized cybersecurity problem: locating confidential or sensitive information that had escaped onto peer-to-peer file-sharing networks and other difficult-to-search areas of the internet. Rather than positioning itself solely as a conventional network-security vendor, Tiversa emphasized investigative monitoring of exposed files and online traces. The company's core offering was EagleVision X1. The software monitored portions of the deep web, including peer-to-peer networks, for information that could indicate a data breach or other security weakness. Tiversa used this capability in investigations and offered organizations monitoring and risk-reduction services. Its reported client list included major financial and corporate institutions such as Capital One, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, and American Express. Tiversa also developed a high-profile advisory network that included technology executive Maynard Webb, former national cybersecurity coordinator Howard Schmidt, and retired general Wesley Clark. In 2009, Tiversa became nationally known after announcing that it had located information connected to Marine One, the U.S. president's helicopter. According to the company's account, sensitive procurement material and helicopter blueprints had been exposed through a peer-to-peer application on a computer associated with a defense contractor's family. Tiversa said the material had reached Iran. The story received significant media attention, but its credibility was later disputed. Richard Wallace, a former Tiversa employee and whistleblower, alleged that the Iranian connection and other investigative findings had been fabricated or manipulated. Boback rejected the accusation. The LabMD dispute became the defining episode in Tiversa's later history. In 2008, a Tiversa executive reportedly contacted LabMD, a urology-testing laboratory, and said that Tiversa had discovered evidence of a serious data breach. Tiversa offered monitoring services, which LabMD declined. Information about the alleged breach was subsequently provided to the Federal Trade Commission, which began examining LabMD's security practices in 2010 and filed an administrative complaint in 2013. LabMD's business suffered as customers and commercial partners withdrew, and the company ceased operating in 2014. In November 2014, an FTC administrative law judge dismissed the complaint against LabMD, concluding that the evidence associated with Tiversa was not reliable enough to support the case. Wallace said that he had himself breached or manipulated relevant data and that files said to have escaped LabMD had not in fact circulated outside the company's systems. In sworn testimony, he acknowledged fabricating data in order to create fear of breaches and claimed that similar conduct affected many companies investigated by Tiversa. He further alleged that the FTC referral was retaliation for LabMD's refusal to buy Tiversa's services. These claims led to federal scrutiny, including a Department of Justice criminal investigation in 2015 and an FTC inquiry into reports involving approximately 80 companies. Despite the controversy, Tiversa continued corporate activity. In August 2016 it acquired Corporate Armor, a U.S. IT-security provider. Kroll Inc. acquired Tiversa in June 2017, after which Tiversa employees were retained to maintain its investigation systems. Information available in 2019 indicated that at least one system remained operational. The later legal, commercial, and branding status of Tiversa is not clearly documented in the supplied sources.

1. 2017Kroll acquires Tiversa

   Kroll Inc. acquired Tiversa and retained personnel to maintain its investigative systems.

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2. 2016Corporate Armor is acquired

   Tiversa acquired Corporate Armor, expanding its relationship with the U.S. IT-security market.

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3. 2015Federal investigation begins

   The Department of Justice began investigating allegations that Tiversa supplied false breach information to federal authorities.

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4. 2014LabMD complaint is dismissed

   An FTC administrative law judge rejected the complaint against LabMD after finding the supporting Tiversa evidence unreliable.

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5. 2009Marine One allegation becomes public

   Tiversa publicized its claim that sensitive Marine One information had been exposed online and transferred to Iran.

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6. 2008LabMD is contacted about an alleged breach

   Tiversa reportedly told LabMD that it had found evidence of a major data exposure and offered monitoring services.

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7. 2004Tiversa is founded

   Robert Boback founded Tiversa in Pittsburgh as a small cybersecurity company focused on peer-to-peer and deep-web investigations.

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A specialized cybersecurity and data-exposure intelligence provider focused on finding sensitive information distributed through peer-to-peer networks and other difficult-to-index online environments.

• EagleVision X1Cybersecurity monitoring software

  EagleVision X1 was Tiversa's principal software product. It monitored deep-web environments, particularly peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, for sensitive documents and other information that might indicate unauthorized disclosure. The platform supported Tiversa's investigative and data-breach monitoring services rather than functioning as a general consumer security suite.

• 2017Sell the company to KrollM&A

  Tiversa continued to maintain investigation systems after its Corporate Armor acquisition and amid regulatory and legal scrutiny.

  What changed. Kroll Inc. acquired Tiversa and hired or retained its employees to maintain the investigation systems.

  Aftermath. The systems were reported to remain operational in 2019, but the later status of the Tiversa brand is unclear.

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• 2016Acquire Corporate ArmorM&A

  Tiversa operated in cybersecurity monitoring and sought to expand its security-services capabilities.

  What changed. The company acquired Corporate Armor, a U.S. IT-security provider.

  Aftermath. The acquisition was followed the next year by Kroll's acquisition of Tiversa.

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• 2015Federal scrutiny over breach reportsControversy

  The Department of Justice and the FTC investigated allegations that Tiversa deliberately supplied false information about data breaches involving companies that did not buy its protection services.

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• 2009Marine One and Iran allegationControversy

  Tiversa claimed that sensitive information about Marine One had been exposed through peer-to-peer file sharing and had reached Iran. A former employee later alleged that the story was fabricated or manipulated, while Robert Boback denied the allegation.

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• 2008LabMD data-breach disputeControversy

  Tiversa reported an alleged LabMD breach after the laboratory declined monitoring services. The resulting FTC case was dismissed in 2014 after an administrative law judge found the supporting evidence unreliable. Former employee Richard Wallace alleged that Tiversa fabricated breach evidence and used referrals to pressure companies into purchasing services.

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• 2017Kroll acquires Tiversa

  Kroll Inc. acquired Tiversa and retained employees to maintain the company's investigation systems.

  M&A
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• 2016Tiversa acquires Corporate Armor

  Tiversa acquired Corporate Armor, a U.S. provider of information-technology security services.

  M&A
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1. Tiversa