Founded by Marines and veteran advocatesTrusted by the Defense Industrial Base.

About KNC Strategic Services

Founded by Marines and veteran advocates

Trusted

by the Defense Industrial Base.

KNC takes its name from its three founders — Kelly, Nick, and Chuck — Two USMC disabled veterans and a veterans advocate, who traded one form of national service for another: supporting the companies that equip America's military.

Our story

KNCSS has watched a troubling pattern emerge in civilian life: the small and mid-sized contractors who build, supply, and support America's defense were the least equipped to defend themselves against cyber threats — and the most likely to be targeted.

They founded KNC Strategic Services to close that gap. Not as another vendor selling tools, but as a partner bringing the discipline, integrity, and mission focus of military service to cybersecurity and compliance. They have a shared focus on cybersecurity and compliance as a consulting firm, official assessment organization, and as a managed services provider.

Today KNC is an authorized C3PAO and a CMMC Registered Provider Organization — credentials held by only a small fraction of firms in the country — serving defense contractors nationwide from Carlsbad, California.

Our Mission

Secure the Defense Industrial Base — one contractor at a time.

Every company we make compliant is a weak link removed from the nation's supply chain. That's the mission, and these are the values that drive it.

Mission First

We protect the supply chain that equips America's warfighters. That responsibility outranks any single engagement, invoice, or deadline.

Integrity Always

You'll get the honest answer, even when it isn't the profitable one. Our assessments and advice hold up because we never bend them.

Discipline in Execution

Military precision isn't a slogan here — it's how we scope, plan, document, and deliver every engagement, every time.

Partnership Over Transactions

Red, White & Blue Glove service means we act as an extension of your team. Your risk is our risk; your contracts are our mission.

Leadership

Decades of military discipline, enterprise IT leadership, and hands-on cybersecurity expertise — at your service.

Kelly C. Kendall, MBA/CCA/CCP

CEO & President

A disabled veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Kelly leads KNC with the same commitment to national security that defined his service. Under his leadership, KNC earned its C3PAO authorization — placing it among the select organizations trusted to conduct official CMMC assessments for the DoD. Kelly also co-hosts the CMMC Wars podcast, translating dense compliance requirements into language contractors actually enjoy learning.

Nick Brenner

Co-Founder

A USMC combat veteran and disabled veteran, Nick is the "N" in KNC. Although his health prevented him from participating, we still honor his help in starting KNC.

Chuck Buresh, MBA/MS Cybersecurity/CISSP/CCISO/CCP

EVP & COO

Chuck pairs extensive leadership in program management and cybersecurity operations. As EVP & COO, he owns service delivery across the firm — the reason KNC's work consistently exceeds the stringent demands of the Defense Industrial Base and the assessors who scrutinize it.

Giving Back

10% of profits. 100% of conviction.

KNC commits 10% of annual profits to US VALOR, the non-profit our founders established to run a Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Program for transitioning US military members.

Every engagement you sign with KNC helps train the next generation of American cyber defenders — veterans who traded a rifle for a keyboard and kept the same mission.

DVBE Certified

SDVOSB — Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned

Work with a team that serves.

Talk to the team who built KNC. One call, straight answers, no obligation.