They included:[6] In 2003, in response to the security-industry market growth spawned by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Army Special Forces veterans Matt Mann and Tom Katis decided to establish a business focused on countering international terrorism.

They applied their knowledge of military activities to “train government agencies in anti-terrorism techniques.”[7] The firm received its first contracts in 2004, following the invasion of Iraq, to help guard and equip allied forces in the war zone, especially for the Coalition Provisional Authority.

In the years following, Triple Canopy has won additional State Department contracts, among others, to provide security services at some of the highest-risk U.S. embassies around the world.

[9][10] In November 2010, around 60 private security firms that were established in war zones promised to cut back their use of force, vetting and training of personnel as well as reporting and infringements of the law.

[16] Adam Hermanson, an employee of Triple Canopy and a U.S. Air Force veteran, died September 1, 2009, after apparently being accidentally electrocuted while showering in his quarters at a company installation inside Baghdad's protected Green Zone.

In June 2010 testimony before the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, CEO Ignacio "Iggy" Balderas expressed the firm's support for a “system of private security contractor certification by third parties.”[22] The result of these efforts was the development and adoption of International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers, and Balderas spoke at the signing ceremony in Geneva, Switzerland in November 2010.

[23][24] Balderas: "Our next steps are to ensure that the Code gains worldwide acceptance and becomes an integral part of how the industry operates and how governments and clients select security providers.

According to the firm's website, it "specializes in the prevention and resolution of kidnaps for ransom, extortion, malicious product tampering, wrongful detention, maritime security, workplace violence and client risk" and is especially active on the U.S.-Mexico border.