Cherokee Federal Expands Cybersecurity and Information Technology Services, Acquires Criterion Systems

TULSA, Okla. (March 1, 2023) – Cherokee Federal, the federal contracting division of Cherokee Nation Businesses, today announced the acquisition of Criterion Systems, a leading cybersecurity and IT services company.

Founded in 2005 and headquartered outside Washington, D.C. in Vienna, Va., Criterion serves as a strategic partner and trusted prime contractor for many of the nation’s most mission-critical environments across more than a dozen agencies of the federal government.

“The strategic decision to acquire Criterion was made with the evolving needs and long-term success of the customer in mind,” said Steven Bilby, president of Cherokee Federal. “In addition to helping federal agencies address emerging cybersecurity requirements crucial to the protection of our nation, Criterion delivers efficient and secure methodologies and architectures for modernizing government IT that are unparalleled in the industry.”

Criterion employs more than 450 professionals across its focus areas – cybersecurity, cloud/data center management, IT infrastructure operations and systems engineering.

“We take great pride in what we have built and the growth Criterion has achieved by supporting the federal government through an outcomes-focused approach that embraces modern solutions that ultimately improve and optimize service delivery,” said Criterion CEO Promod Sharma. “The opportunity to join forces with the talented team at Cherokee Federal and fuel continued growth and sophistication is truly exciting.”

In 2021, Criterion secured placement on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for the seventh time – something only three percent of companies achieve. The Washington Business Journal ranked Criterion on its list of largest private companies in 2019, 2020 and 2021. It has also been named a top workplace by the Washington Post and achieved status as a Military Friendly® employer. For three years running, Criterion has received the 2022 HIRE Vets Gold Medallion Award from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Cherokee Federal brings demonstrated performance and an experienced team to help federal clients build solutions, solve complex challenges and serve America’s interests across the globe. Earlier this year, Cherokee Federal was ranked No. 54 on the top 200 list of federal contractors published by Bloomberg Government in the 11th annual BGOV200. Visit cherokee-federal.com to learn more.

About Cherokee Federal

Cherokee Federal is owned by Cherokee Nation Businesses — the economic engine of Cherokee Nation, the largest Native American tribe in the U.S. The mission of Cherokee Federal is to build a talented team that provides innovative solutions that solve America’s greatest challenges and serves Cherokee Nation with strong conviction and heart. For more information, please visit cherokee-federal.com or follow Cherokee Federal on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

About Cherokee Nation Businesses

Cherokee Nation Businesses (CNB) is the tribally owned holding company of the largest Indian Nation in the United States. The Cherokee Nation and its businesses employ 11,000 people. CNB blends its heritage of ingenuity with modern business experience to solve complex challenges, serve clients nationwide and to remain one of the drivers of Cherokee Nation’s prosperity and stability. CNB owns companies in the consulting, health sciences, hospitality, real estate, technology, distribution and logistics, engineering, manufacturing, construction and environmental services industries. For more information, please visit CherokeeNationBusinesses.com or follow CNB on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Criterion Systems

Criterion Systems, Inc. (Criterion) is a cybersecurity and IT services company. Since 2005, Criterion has provided cybersecurity, IT infrastructure operations, cloud/data center management, and systems engineering for our nation’s mission-critical environments across the federal government. Criterion is a trusted partner and proven prime contractor managing and executing enterprise-level IT service delivery across multiple departments/agencies. Our work leverages the expertise within our Cybersecurity and Cloud Centers of Excellence to identify best practices in the face of rapidly changing technology, emerging cybersecurity threats, and evolving industry/government standards, rules, and regulations while creating better, more efficient processes and methods for meeting complex challenges. Criterion has achieved Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI)-DEV and CMMI-SVC Level 3 ratings and has been certified against ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems, ISO/IEC 27001:2013 Information Security Management Systems, and ISO/IEC 20000-1:2018 Information Technology – Service Management Systems by G-CERTI Co., Ltd. Criterion is headquartered in Vienna, Va., with sites across the United States. More information can be found at criterion-sys.com.