This shift to identity-based security has had major implications for compliance. Frameworks like FedRAMP, CMMC, and NIST 800-series controls all rely on strong identity practices. Yet areas like Identity Assurance remain a consistent challenge. Many organizations assume that if a user can log in with MFA, their identity is secure. In reality, authentication only proves… Read More

The core HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules were written in a very different era, before cloud computing, large-scale data exchange, and ransomware became a systemic risk to healthcare. While there have been updates to address the digital age (namely, HITECH), there are still gaps in HIPAA’s approach to distributed cloud systems.   The latest round of… Read More

As regulatory scrutiny is increasing, customers are more demanding, and security failures carry reputational and financial consequences that far outweigh the cost of prevention. In response, Managed Service Providers are redefining their role. Instead of offering compliance as a one-off consulting engagement, they are transforming it into a repeatable, scalable managed service. This is an… Read More

Passwordless authentication is a potential lynchpin for organizations struggling with identity as their security perimeter. While neither FedRAMP nor CMMC explicitly mandates passwordless technologies, both frameworks set requirements and outcomes that passwordless authentication can meet. For organizations operating in regulated environments, especially those handling government data or CUI, passwordless authentication is no longer an emerging… Read More

When U.S. officials began publicly discussing the threat actor known as Salt Typhoon, it was clear this was something beyond mere disorganized attacks. But for compliance leaders, the more important question was how a campaign of this scale could operate for so long within systems that were supposed to be compliant? At the center of… Read More

CISA’s Cross-Sector Cybersecurity Performance Goals (CPGs) reflect the federal government’s effort to raise the baseline for basic cybersecurity effectiveness. CPG 2.0 breaks away from the idea of a strict framework, instead establishing a strategic, outcome-driven baseline for cybersecurity performance that cuts across industries, operating environments, and organizational maturity levels. For CISOs, CIOs, and compliance officers,… Read More

CISA’s Industry Engagement Platform (IEP) signals a meaningful shift in how that relationship works. While the platform is not a compliance or procurement system it represents something arguably more useful: a formalized, structured mechanism for continuous engagement between CISA and the private sector. For organizations operating in regulated environments, particularly those subject to FedRAMP, CMMC,… Read More

There isn’t a country-wide privacy law in the U.S., much to the chagrin of states and American businesses that thrive on clarity. While frameworks like GovRAMP exist, they aren’t enforced by the government and serve more as a blueprint than a law. Now, however, state-level privacy regulation has begun to fill the gap. With multiple… Read More

Open source software is a reality of modern computing, and there really isn’t a space where it doesn’t touch at least some aspect of an IT stack. Even the most locked-down software will include libraries and utilities that rose from an open-source project built by well-meaning developers to solve everyday problems.  The challenge is that… Read More

Open-source software is the cornerstone of most IT platforms and infrastructure. This reliance extends beyond major applications; most software worldwide relies, in part, on even the smallest OSS library that solves a critical problem.  For businesses subject to FedRAMP, CMMC, and other federal jurisdictions, this is a solid way to plan their compliance. As we’re… Read More

Recently, U.S. and allied cybersecurity agencies, including CISA, the NSA, and Canada’s Centre for Cyber Security, issued a series of alerts and analysis reports warning of ongoing malicious activity associated with a sophisticated backdoor malware known as Brickstorm. This malware, attributed to state-sponsored threat actors linked to China, has demonstrated the capability to maintain long-term,… Read More

Federal cybersecurity has long since moved beyond compliance for its own sake. Still,  one of the most persistent and dangerous mistakes organizations continue to make is equating compliance with security. This article repeats a common message that we’ve been hammering home for years: that risk reduction, not box-checking, must be the organizing principle of modern… Read More