Merlon Security Joins Security Delta (HSD) as a Premium Partner!

Merlon Security officially joins Security Delta (HSD) as a premium partner! Merlon Security is a sovereign cybersecurity providing enterprise-grade security services to organisations that demand uncompromising protection of their digital infrastructure. Their services span two core disciplines: Managed Detection & Response (MDR), delivering continuous threat monitroing, detection, and incident response; and Specialised Testing & Engineering (ST&E), encompassing offensive security, penetration testing, red teaming, forensic analysis and security consultancy.

Merlon Security was founded in response to the growing demand for sovereign cybersecurity. The company was formed by a team of cybersecurity specialists who, from a risk mitigation perspective, view sovereignty as a core principle rather than a commercial strategy. For them, sovereignty is not a marketing term, but an ideological foundation: the continuity of an organisation should remain firmly in its own hands, rather than being dependent on third-party vendors. Their team consists of cybersecurity specialists who, driven by a kind of naïve optimism, are committed to putting this vision into practice.

From detection to advanced testing

Merlon Security operates across two main domains: Managed Detection & Response (MDR) and Specialised Testing & Engineering (STE). As a Managed Security Service Provider (MSSP), they monitor environments, in collaboration with partners such as Passguard and ESET, for malicious activity across devices, accounts, and networks.

Alongside this, their STE team focuses on complex security challenges for clients. This includes both engineering work, such as building air-gapped environments and implementing data diodes, and testing services, including red teaming, black teaming, and penetration testing.

HSD Community

Merlon Security first came into contact with Security Delta (HSD) during an innovation mission in France, where Earth Grob spoke with an HSD community manager. However, Merlon Security had already been aware of the hub in The Hague for some time as a key meeting point for a wide range of cybersecurity organisations.

Earth Grob, CEO Merlon Security : "Cybersecurity is, by nature, a field built on collaboration. On our own, we can achieve quite a lot, but if cybercriminals collaborate effectively while we remain hesitant due to competitive thinking, that creates a dangerous imbalance. As an HSD Premium Partner, we aim to broaden our horizons. While contributing to strategic discussions is valuable, the connections we build are even more important to us."

 

Contribution to the cybersecurity cluster

First and foremost, Merlon Security hopes to bring a sense of enjoyment to the cluster. That might sound unusual coming from a company that also has to consider profit and loss, but part of their manifesto revolves around what they call productive stupidity.

By this, they mean deliberately engaging in research or experimentation that, at first glance, may not have a clear purpose. This often takes place on Fridays, internally known as “Meme Day”, when they might take things apart (both software and hardware) or wrestle with seemingly meaningless problems. This “nerd-sniping” is not just for fun; it encourages a different kind of creativity that strengthens their technical capabilities. Of course, the team is highly skilled in both attacking and defending systems, but they also place great value on enjoyment and innovation throughout the process. That is exactly what they hope to contribute to the wider security cluster.

Challenges in the cybersecurity domain

"If I don’t mention AI, I suspect my non-existent marketing colleague would give me a telling-off", Grob says. "That said, I would like to add some nuance. There seems to be a widespread fear of advanced models capable of “hacking everything”, but most IT professionals are aware that the so-called democratisation of cybersecurity knowledge will mainly highlight just how fragile many systems still are."

In reality, a significant portion of today’s digital infrastructure is still held together with what can best be described as digital duct tape. The fundamentals are often not where they are assumed to be, and AI is likely to expose those gaps, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Another key theme is sovereignty, whether driven by European or local institutions. Beyond the current political climate in the United States, many organisations are increasingly questioning whether viable European alternatives exist for reasons that extend well beyond ideology.

There is also a growing realisation that legal disputes with Big Tech frequently end up in Washington DC, meaning that the level of contractual control organisations believe they have over their environments is, in practice, far less absolute than often assumed.

Operating in regulated defence ecosystems

Merlon Security primarily works with partners within the defence supply chain. In these environments, companies are commercially required to maintain a significantly higher level of information security due to the nature of their collaborations. This includes compliance frameworks such as ABRO, alongside standard certifications like ISO and NEN, but applied within a much stricter regulatory context.

Merlon Security is always open for new collaborations. As mentioned earlier, they value collaboration highly, and if a project aligns with either of their two divisions, they are always excited to explore new perspectives and partnerships.

Future ambitions

Their ambition is to build a solid, sustainable cybersecurity business that operates in a truly sovereign way, while having a great deal of fun along the way.