Field intelligence for Midwest & SLED security
Security intelligence, written by the people who run the SOC.
Advisories, compliance playbooks, and hard-won outcomes for state & local government, healthcare, defense contractors, and the small businesses that keep them running. No vendor theater — just what actually moves the needle.
What’s hitting the wire right now
Actively exploited vulnerabilities and advisories, pulled from CISA and the wider security community and refreshed continuously. This is the same intel our SOC watches.
The library
Six ways in. Pick where you stand.
Every piece is filed by topic and tagged by who it’s for — so a county IT director and a clinic administrator each find their own path through the same hub.
Latest
Fresh from the desk
The cyber-insurance questionnaire, decoded
Carriers stopped taking your word for it. Here's the control-by-control reality of what they now verify — and how to answer each with evidence instead of a promise.
smb_msp · insurance · 2 minCMMC & CUICMMC 2.0 before the 2026 deadline: the DIB contractor's runway
Phase 2 makes a third-party assessment mandatory for Level 2, and prep takes 9–12 months. If you touch CUI and hold DoD contracts, the clock is already running.
gov_cjis · 2 minCJISCJIS MFA is now mandatory: the practical checklist
Advanced authentication for anyone touching Criminal Justice Information is no longer optional. Here's what the policy requires versus what an underfunded agency can actually deploy this quarter.
sled · gov_cjis · 2 minHIPAAThe 2025 HIPAA Security Rule update, decoded
The proposed update turns 'addressable' into 'required' — mandatory MFA, encryption, and annual testing. What's changing, and what it will cost a small practice.
healthcare · 2 minSMB Security BaselineDo we actually need a SOC? An honest answer for the 50-person business
The real math on building an in-house security operations center versus running on a managed one — for a business too small to staff 24/7 but too exposed to ignore it.
smb_msp · 2 minInsights“We're too small to be a target” — and other myths that get you breached
The most dangerous idea in small-business security is that attackers aren't interested in you. They are — because you're easier. Four myths, and the reality behind each.
smb_msp · 2 minStart here
Not sure where you stand? Run the 3-minute insurability self-check.
Answer the same questions your carrier asks and get a plain-English readout of where you’d pass, where you’d fail, and what it takes to close the gap. See our cybersecurity services and vCISO & risk advisory.