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Guides & insights.
Practical writing on the things we actually get asked about — security decisions, compliance traps, and how to run IT that does not fall over. No thought-leadership fluff. If it will not help you make a better decision, we will not publish it.
SOC 2 for startups: real cost & timeline (2026)
What SOC 2 truly costs ($25k–$80k all-in), Type I vs II timelines, and the sequencing mistake that adds a quarter.
Personal OPSEC for crypto founders & executives
SIM-swap defense, persona separation, key custody and a duress plan — protecting the person, not just the platform.
FAR 52.204-21 in plain English: the 15 controls
Every basic safeguarding control a federal contractor needs, and how it maps to NIST 800-171 and CMMC Level 1.
EDR vs. MDR vs. SIEM: what you actually need
Three acronyms, one budget decision — what each does and which you need at 20, 80, and 200 people.
What a pen test report should include
The seven sections of a credible report, annotated good-vs-useless, and a two-minute test for a scan in disguise.
The 3-2-1 backup rule isn't enough anymore
Why ransomware beats classic 3-2-1, the 2026 evolution to 3-2-1-1-0, and a one-week upgrade path.
HIPAA IT requirements for small practices
What the Security Rule actually requires — safeguards and the mandatory risk analysis — without the vendor theatrics.
What anyone can learn about your company in an afternoon
A defensive walkthrough of attacker reconnaissance — five public layers, how they combine, and how to shrink each.
Phishing-resistant MFA without a mutiny
Why most MFA is phishable, what passkeys change, and a wave-by-wave rollout that avoids the helpdesk revolt.
How to choose an IT company: 12 questions
Twelve questions that separate a real partner from a lock-in machine — including how to vet us.
Pen test vs. vulnerability scan: which one do you need?
Different instruments for different questions — with a decision flowchart, honest costs, and the mislabeled-scan trap that fails audits.
The first 24 hours after a ransomware attack
An engineer's hour-by-hour playbook from real 2 a.m. calls: contain, assess, eradicate, restore — and the mistakes that turn days into weeks.
The 20-point IT security checklist for SMBs
A tickable baseline across identity, devices, network, data and operations — with the three items everyone skips.
Managed IT pricing: what SMBs actually pay in 2026
Per-user rates by tier, the contract clauses that cost more than the invoice, and the honest in-house-vs-provider math.
Crypto exchange security: what banks actually expect
The six-layer control stack — KYC, monitoring, Travel Rule, custody, platform security, governance — from an AML/MLRO practitioner who builds these systems.
Cyber insurance requirements 2026: what insurers demand
The underwriting table, the attestation trap that voids claims, and a 30-day path to answering the questionnaire honestly.
The cheap camera that can cost you a federal contract
Section 889 bans covered Chinese-made gear from federal work — and it hides inside ordinary brands. How to run the audit in an afternoon.
We publish weekly — when we have something worth your time, not to feed a calendar.
What a pen test report should include
An annotated example — what auditors and banking partners look for on page one. Coming soon.
The 3-2-1 backup rule isn't enough anymore
Why immutable copies and rehearsed restores are the real ransomware defence. Coming soon.
Phishing-resistant MFA without a mutiny
Rolling out passkeys and hardware keys across a small company, step by step. Coming soon.
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