IPTalons, Inc.

IPTalons, Inc. is an American managed research security service provider headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company focuses on foreign influence risk management — helping research universities, SBIR-funded companies, corporate labs, and government-sector organizations protect intellectual property, research data, trade secrets, and personnel from loss, theft, and misappropriation. Its services are built around the compliance and disclosure requirements that U.S. research institutions face when receiving federal funding, most notably National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33). The company was founded by Allen Phelps, a board-certified security professional who serves as Founder and CEO. Phelps spent nearly two decades at the Central Intelligence Agency in various roles and later established a trade secret protection program at Merck & Co. that has been cited as a best-in-class security program for protecting pharmaceutical trade secrets. Jeff Hinson, a former CFO of two NYSE-traded companies (Univision Communications and Hispanic Broadcasting), serves as CFO and Board Member. IPTalons' flagship offering is the Certified Secure Researcher (CSR) platform, a subscription-based compliance and certification framework for maintaining NSPM-33 compliance and establishing federal trust. The CSR platform integrates analytical tools including RedBook, a foreign influence risk detection engine that analyzes data from over 300 million research publications and 120 million patent documents, and Grant Hopper, an AI-enabled due diligence tool. Together these tools identify undisclosed foreign research collaborations, flag countries-of-concern affiliations, and generate tailored Risk Mitigation Plans (RMPs). Beyond the CSR platform, IPTalons provides bespoke managed services. These include Virtual Chief Research Security Officer (vCRSO) support, independent validation of Conflict of Interest (COI) and Conflict of Commitment (COC) disclosures, deep-dive open-source intelligence (OSINT) analytical threat reports, and baseline readiness benchmarking through its MV-RSP Auditor's Tool. The company markets itself on measurable outcomes, citing 100% client satisfaction, 44 million research dollars saved, over 4,000 insider risks remediated, and 20 critical technology categories protected. IPTalons positions itself as a specialist rather than a general security vendor: its messaging emphasizes that research is the product of years of effort and deserves a risk management provider with matching commitment. Its client base spans academic, corporate, and government sectors, with particular emphasis on institutions navigating SBIR/STTR submissions and federal research security program requirements.

IPTalons, Inc. is a privately held American company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, operating in the specialized field of research security and foreign influence risk management. The company was founded by Allen Phelps, a board-certified security professional whose career spans nearly two decades at the Central Intelligence Agency and a corporate security leadership role at Merck & Co., where he established a trade secret protection program cited as best-in-class for protecting pharmaceutical trade secrets and building research compliance resiliency. Phelps serves as Founder and CEO of IPTalons, described by the company as a managed research security service provider focused on protecting research personnel and related innovation assets in the academic, corporate, and government sectors. Jeff Hinson, a former CFO of two NYSE-traded companies — Univision Communications and Hispanic Broadcasting — serves as CFO and Board Member, bringing public-company board experience including roles as Board Chairman, Audit Committee Chair, and Governance Chair. The company's emergence reflects a broader shift in the U.S. research ecosystem: as federal funding agencies tightened disclosure and research security requirements — most notably through National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33) — universities, SBIR-funded companies, and research organizations needed new compliance and risk management capabilities. IPTalons built its offering around this need, developing the Certified Secure Researcher (CSR) platform as its flagship compliance and certification product. The CSR platform integrates two analytical engines. RedBook, the core foreign influence risk detection engine, collects and analyzes data from over 300 million research publications and 120 million patent documents to deliver 24/7 foreign influence risk profiling, identifying undisclosed foreign research collaborations and flagging countries-of-concern affiliations. Grant Hopper provides AI-enabled due diligence as part of the CSR analytical toolkit. Together they generate tailored Risk Mitigation Plans (RMPs) integrated directly into the CSR workflow. Beyond the platform, IPTalons offers bespoke managed services: Virtual Chief Research Security Officer (vCRSO) support for institutions that need senior research security leadership without a full-time hire; independent COI and Affiliation Veracity Checks that validate researcher Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment disclosures against international publication indexes, patent registries, and foreign corporate records; Deep Dive Analytical Threat Reports producing board-ready OSINT investigative reports; and the MV-RSP Auditor's Tool for baseline readiness benchmarking. The company markets its impact through quantitative claims: 100% client satisfaction, 44 million research dollars saved, over 4,000 insider risks remediated, and 20 critical technology categories protected. Its clientele spans research universities, SBIR-funded companies, research parks, and corporate labs. IPTalons continues to operate as a private company, with no public listing.

• Allen Phelps serves nearly two decades at the Central Intelligence Agency in various roles.

• Phelps establishes a trade secret protection program at Merck & Co., cited as best-in-class for protecting pharmaceutical trade secrets.

• IPTalons, Inc. is founded by Allen Phelps as a managed research security service provider.

• Certified Secure Researcher (CSR) platform launched as the company's flagship NSPM-33 compliance and certification product.

• RedBook foreign influence risk detection engine integrated into the CSR platform, analyzing over 300M research publications and 120M patent documents.

• Grant Hopper AI-enabled due diligence tool added to the CSR analytical toolkit.

Specialist managed research security provider focused on foreign influence risk management and NSPM-33 compliance for academic, corporate, and government research organizations.

• Certified Secure Researcher (CSR)

  Flagship compliance platform providing a comprehensive framework for maintaining NSPM-33 compliance and establishing federal trust, purpose-built for research universities, SBIR-funded companies, and organizations navigating foreign influence risk.

• RedBook

  Foreign influence risk detection engine and core analytical engine within the CSR platform; collects and analyzes data from over 300M research publications and 120M patent documents to deliver 24/7 foreign influence risk profiling.

• Grant Hopper

  AI-enabled due diligence tool that is part of the Certified Secure Researcher analytical toolkit.

• Virtual Chief Research Security Officer (vCRSO)

  Managed service providing access to senior research security executives without the overhead of a full-time hire, offering strategic guidance on compliance program design, federal funding audits, security policy drafting, and executive threat briefs.

• COI & Affiliation Veracity Checks

  Independent disclosure validation service conducting deep-dive audits cross-referencing researcher-reported COI and COC details against international publication indexes, patent registries, and foreign corporate records.

• Deep Dive Analytical Threat Reports

  Board-ready open-source intelligence (OSINT) investigative reports detailing publication networks, patent assignments, foreign talent program contracts, and institutional affiliations.

• MV-RSP Auditor's Tool

  Baseline readiness benchmarking tool for research security program auditing.

1. 1IPTalons, Inc. | Safeguard Innovation. Protect What Matters Most.iptalons.com
2. 2Products + Services | IPTalons, Inc.iptalons.com
3. 3Advisors | IPTalons, Inc.iptalons.com
4. 4Bespoke Research Security Services | IPTalons, Inc.iptalons.com
5. 5IPTalons, Inc. (United States) - Wikidatawikidata.org