IT Executive With Over 25 Years Experience
Hello, my name is Matt Riffle and I have spent my entire multi-decade career in the Internet industry, gaining expertise across the gamut from software development to systems administration, hardware and networking, and I have made a particular focus of security.
WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING CUSTOMERS AT THE PRESENT TIME. THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST.
Hello, my name is Matt Riffle. The genesis of my IT career can be summed up in three inflection points:
Over the ensuing 25+ years I've worked on and become expert in all manner of IT systems, from software to hardware, systems to network, and security to... security. I have a proven track record of success in building systems and keeping them secure. I'm expert at writing sensible policies and procedures, and at communicating them to employees. I've learned the hard lessons of growing an organization from 4 employees to 70+. I've worked in private industry and for a publically-traded company.
Now I'm ready to use that knowledge to benefit your organization.
When was the last time you reviewed your company's security posture? Does your company have a formal security posture?
Many companies approach their Internet presence in a way that's designed to bring in users and money first, and then you can circle back to security. Most never do. You read articles about the prevalence of breaches and ransomware attacks, but, nobody would ever go after you, right? You're not a government and you're not a billion dollar corporation -- why would someone choose to go after you?
I'm not here to scare you, but, there are many flawed assumptions in that thinking, the first being that someone has to chose you for a problem to start. The fact is, your Internet presence is hit by automated scanners anywhere from tens to hundreds of thousands of times per day. A ransomware incident could occur and proceed from encrypted your files, to you paying a ransom (if you don't have proper backups) and decrypting your files, without the bad actor ever even knowing who you are at all. They just see the bitcoin in their wallet go up again.
Security's expensive though, right? You can easily spend millions of dollars per year on all the latest systems to keep the bad guys out of your network, and detect them when they're there.
The good news is that there are many low-to-no cost ways to help secure your infrastructure and make yourself less of a target. With a sensible set of policies and procedures, and well educated employees, you can secure your infrastructure, and respond to any security incidents that do occur.
I have over 25 years experience working for companies that live entirely on the Internet. I hold the CISSP certification, and, I've been responsible for the security of a network that by its nature had to let hundreds of thousands of untrusted customers have direct access. I did it all on little to no budget for security. I can review the security posture of your company, and recommend and write a sensible set of policies and procedures, teach the how and why to your employees, and help you take the easy steps to secure your infrastructure. I can also make recommendations on how to make optimal use of the budget you do have available for security.
Do the projects at your company tend to go overtime, overbudget, and just generally not always achieve the goals they set out to? Is there confusion about who's in charge of what? Unchecked rivalries within the ranks? A general sense that not everyone is pulling in the same direction? I can help.
In my 25+ years in the Internet industry, I have led all manner of projects encompassing facilities, software development, hardware infrastructure, systems administration, and Internet networking. I have developed a leadership style that borrows from both traditional and agile (I'm a Certified Scrum Master) disciplines to keep everyone moving forward and within the goals of the project.
I have also had some of the brightest minds in my local Pittsburgh area passionately insisting on a certain direction for a project, even as they completely contradicted each other. Resolving these situations peacefully and moving the project along is no small skill, and while I'd be perfectly happy to have never developed it, it's something I can put to work for you.
I am available to do anything from consulting on a project you're just considering, to helping rescue a project that is floundering, to leading your project from start to finish.
Freebies:Do you understand how the hosting for your Web site and e-mail work? Was your Web site set up by a former employee or a consultant that you have no relationship with today? Innovation on the Internet (for good or for bad) proceeds at a blistering pace, and the days when you could take a "set it and forget it" attitude toward your Internet presence are long gone.
I have over 25 years experience in the hosting of Web sites and e-mail. I was literally there for the birth of the industry, and I know all its ins and outs. Among the things I can do for you are:
At the end of my review you'll receive an actionable checklist that you can implement yourself, have me implement, pass along to another consultant, or some combination of the three.