Areas Of Expertise
Michael Swanagan, CISSP, CISA, CISM
Editor-In-Chief
Michael is an Information Security Professional with 13 years of proven experience. He has experience leading and supporting security projects and initiatives in the healthcare, finance, and advertising industry.
Michael is the founder of CyberSwan Security Solutions, helping SMBs develop effective security strategies. Michael specializes in Data Loss Prevention, implementing and supporting DLP in medium and large global organizations. His expertise lies in providing a DLP road map to protect your confidential data at the endpoint, in transit or network, or data at rest.
Michael currently serves as editor-in-chief and technical writer for PurpleSec.
Recent Articles:
What Does A Virtual CISO Do? (Roles & Responsibilities Explained)
Is your organization in need of a cyber security leader? Find out how a Virtual CISO can manage your security strategy, oversee compliance, and provide staff augmentation.
Top 10 Benefits Of A Virtual CISO
In this article, we’ll explore the importance of virtual CISOs, their roles and responsibilities, and the top 10 benefits they offer.
How Much Does A Virtual CISO Cost? (Here’s What You Can Expect To Pay)
A Virtual CISO (vCISO) cost depends on factors such as expertise, business size, and experience, with pricing structures like retainers fees, hourly fees, project-based fees, and equity compensation.
What Is A Virtual CISO? (& When You Should Hire One)
A virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO) is an executive level security professional hired to guide the planning, development, implementation, and on going maintenance of a cyber security program.
Vulnerability Assessment VS Penetration Testing: Key Differences Explained
The main difference between vulnerability assessments and penetration testing is that vulnerability assessments identify potential weaknesses in an organization’s IT infrastructure through high-level security scans. Penetration testing goes a step further by simulating real-world attacks to test the effectiveness of security measures and provide a more in-depth analysis of the organization’s security posture.
What Is A Vulnerability Assessment? A Complete Guide For 2023
A vulnerability assessment is the process of identifying vulnerabilities and classifying risk in an infrastructure. The assessment also seeks to identify weaknesses in all connected systems to determine the most effective security measures.
What Is Vulnerability Management? A Complete Guide For 2023
Vulnerability management is the process of identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating vulnerabilities in an organization’s systems and networks to reduce the risk of cyber attacks and protect against potential threats.
Best Practices For Cloud Vulnerability Management In 2023
The top best practices for managing vulnerabilities in the cloud in 2023 include establishing KPIs, staying up to date with threat intelligence feeds, utilizing a vulnerability database repository, and leveraging automation, AI, and ML.
Vulnerability & Patch Management Metrics: Top 10 KPIs to Measure Success
We help you identify and define the top key metrics that your organization can implement to track the progress and state of your vulnerability and patch management programs.
How To Implement Cyber Security Awareness Training
Security awareness training is a formal process that seeks to educate its members about security practices as outlined in the organization’s corporate policies and procedures.
How To Prevent Wireless Attacks
Wireless attacks can be prevented by Turning off unused networking features, Not broadcasting your SSID, Changing the default password and secure it with a strong password…
How To Prevent Network Attacks
Network attacks can be prevented by Using an Anti-virus solution, implementing a network monitoring tool, Avoiding trust relationships with unknown entities, Enabling cryptographic network protocols…
Why Vulnerability Management Reporting Fails (& How To Fix It)
If the report contains pages of vulnerabilities and is not clearly presented to your executive management team, it will be difficult to receive continued support for future investments.
How To Reduce Your Average Time To Patch A Vulnerability
In this article, we will explore in detail the factors that determine the average time to patch, and review how PurpleSec’s vulnerability management solution can help reduce the average time to patch your vulnerabilities.
How To Build A Cyber Security Program For Small Business
There are 10 steps to building a cyber security program including conducting a security risk assessment, selecting a cyber security framework, developing a cyber security strategy, developing a risk management plan, reating security policies and controls, securing your network, data, and applications…
How To Develop & Implement A Network Security Plan
There are 8 steps to a network security plan which include: Understand your Business Model, Perform A Threat Assessment, Develop IT Security Policies & Procedures, Create A “Security-First” Company Culture, Define Incident Response, Implement Security Controls…
What Are The Different Types Of Network Security?
Network security is a combination of technologies, devices, and processes designed to protect an organization’s network infrastructure from unauthorized access, exploitation of its corporate resources, improper disclosure, and denial of services.
How To Perform A Successful HIPAA Risk Assessment
There are 5 main steps in performing a successful HIPAA risk assessment including defining key concepts and information flows, defining threats and vulnerabilities, conducting an initial risk assessment, developing control recommendations, and conducting a residual risk assessment.
The 3 Types Of Security Controls (Expert Explains)
There are three main types of security controls including technical, administrative, and physical. Most controls in cyber security can be classifed as one of these three types.
CYBER ATTACKS
How To Prevent The Top Cyber Attacks In 2022
Cyber attacks and threats can be prevented by being aware of the various types of protocols, exploits, tools, and resources used by malicious actors.
The Best Data Loss Prevention Vendors (An Expert Review)
DLP expert Michael Swanagan reviews the best DLP software vendors on the market and provides his insights learned from over 13+ years of experience.
NIST 800-171 Incident Reporting Compliance Requirements
Incident response is one of the 14 requirements outlined in the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Special Publication (SP) 800-171—Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) in Nonfederal Information Systems and Organizations, and enforced by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
7 Data Loss Prevention Best Practices & Strategies
Data Loss Prevention is a strategy that detects potential data breaches or data ex-filtration transmissions and prevents them by monitoring, detecting and blocking sensitive data while in use (endpoint actions), in-motion (network traffic), and at rest (data storage).
What Is A Smishing Attack? (And How To Prevent It)
Smishing is a cyber attack that uses SMS text messages to mislead its victims into providing sensitive information to a cybercriminal.
What Is A Vishing Attack? (And How To Protect Against It)
Vishing attacks, or voice phishing, is a form of social engineering that attempts trick users into giving up personal or financial information.
MANAGED SECURITY
What Is Endpoint Detection And Response? (And Why It’s Important)
Endpoint detection and response (EDR) provides an additional layer of endpoint protection that is lacking with traditional anti-virus software.
MANAGED SECURITY
What Is A SIEM Solution? Benefits, Tools, & Strategies
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions are implemented by businesses to support the management of incidents and events produced by multiple data systems.
MANAGED SECURITY
Intrusion Detection VS Prevention Systems: What’s The Difference?
The main difference between an intrusion detection system (IDS) and an intrusion prevention system (IPS) is that an IDS is used to monitor a network, which then sends alerts when suspicious events on a system or network are detected…
