HIPAA
What Is a Business Associate Agreement (BAA)? Why It Matters in 2026
BAA fundamentals plus the modern complications: cloud vendors, AI tools, subcontractors. Why most BAAs are inadequate today.
Regulatory Compliance
5 Common Compliance Program Failures and How to Avoid Them
The patterns I see repeatedly: paperwork without practice, tools without strategy, siloed compliance, weak executive engagement, treating it as a destination.
CMMC
CMMC Compliance Cost and Timeline: A Realistic Look at What It Takes
Honest cost estimates by company size, typical timelines, where money gets wasted, and how to budget for ongoing compliance vs initial certification.
vCISO
The First 90 Days of a vCISO Engagement: What Good Looks Like
What a competent vCISO does in the first three months, the deliverables to expect, the warning signs of a bad engagement.
vCISO
What Is a vCISO? When a Virtual CISO Makes Sense (And When It Doesn't)
Definition, the engagement models, what to expect from a vCISO relationship, and the organizational situations that benefit most.
Privacy
How to Opt Out of Data Brokers: A Realistic Guide
What data brokers are, the major ones, manual opt-out processes vs. paid services, and how to maintain your opt-out posture over time.
CMMC
How to Write a System Security Plan (SSP) That Holds Up Under Audit
What auditors actually read in SSPs, common deficiencies, sectional structure, and how to keep an SSP current without rewriting it constantly.
CMMC
CMMC Self-Assessment vs Third-Party Assessment: What's the Difference?
When self-assessment is allowed, when third-party is required, what each costs, and how to prepare for either path.
HIPAA
The HIPAA Security Rule, Explained: Administrative, Physical, and Technical Safeguards
Deep dive on the three safeguard categories with examples of what compliance looks like operationally, not just on paper.
Privacy
What Is GDPR Compliance? What U.S. Companies Need to Know
When GDPR applies to U.S. companies, the key principles (lawful basis, data minimization, etc.), and what compliance actually requires.
ITAR & Export Controls
ITAR and the Cloud: What Defense Contractors Need to Know in 2026
GovCloud vs commercial cloud, encryption requirements, the 2020 ITAR rule changes on cloud and end-to-end encryption, and current best practices.
CMMC
What Is NIST 800-171? The 110 Controls Federal Contractors Must Know
Overview of the 14 control families and 110 specific controls. Practical interpretation of the most commonly misunderstood requirements.