In 2013, cartographer Karl Swannie was tasked with building a tool to map social media use around a Canadian university campus. It wasn't long before a military general, as well as a key investor, saw the potential for the technology and it became a data discovery platform that was unlike anything on the market.

For Karl, it started as a passion project. Visualizing dynamic GIS data from around the world was and still is his happy place.

"When we started using the tool more, we noticed so much intelligence coming from different locations and organizations that we became concerned. We saw the data leaking as a significant threat to their companies, staff, and clients. We approached several of the companies, who purchased the product; and that was when the business started."

In early 2019, the company released Beacon, a dark web discovery platform. Beacon uncovers critical intelligence to aid in the detection and prevention of physical and information security threats for corporate security, public safety, and retail organizations.

Now Echosec platforms are mission-critical components for security and intelligence organizations around the world. And our CEO Karl will still take you anywhere in the world you want to go with just a few clicks.