Donald Mills

Donald Mills

Donald Mills is a Virtual CISO with Compass IT Compliance. Donald is an information technology & cybersecurity professional with over 15 years of experience in the field. He maintained security programs at the base level for the USAF and managed numerous system and network accreditations for USSTRATCOM and the Air Force Weather Agency. Donald holds multiple industry level certifications and has a background in security consulting and enabling businesses to align security controls effectively into their organization. He has extensive experience in PCI assessments and has performed audits for multiple Fortune 500 companies.

Posts by Donald Mills

Shadow IT Is Now Shadow SaaS & Shadow AI: A Practical Cleanup Guide

Shadow IT Is Now Shadow SaaS & Shadow AI: A Practical Cleanup Guide

If you caught yourself searching "what is shadow IT" this week, you are not alone, and you have probably already lived through it. The term used to conjure rogue modems in a closet, a dusty Access database on somebody's C: drive, or a "just for the team" WiFi router plugged in under a …

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The Hidden Cybersecurity Risk Nobody Talks About: Executive Turnover

The Hidden Cybersecurity Risk Nobody Talks About Executive Turnover

When security leaders talk about risk, the conversation usually gravitates toward ransomware, zero-day vulnerabilities, or third-party breaches. Those threats are real, and they deserve the attention they get. But there is another risk vector that quietly undermines cybersecurity prog …

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The Gap Between Compliant & Secure Is Where Breaches Live

The Gap Between Compliant & Secure Is Where Breaches Live

There's a conversation happening in boardrooms, IT departments, and leadership meetings across every industry right now, and it usually starts the same way: "Are we compliant?"

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Managing Vendor Risk Without a Dedicated Team

Managing Third-Party Vendor Risk without a Dedicated Team

High-profile breaches have shown that attackers often take the path of least resistance—and that path is frequently through a third party. The 2013 Target breach is the textbook example: attackers used a compromised HVAC vendor to access Target’s network, leading to a massive payment …

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RTO vs. RPO: How to Prepare for a Business Impact Analysis

RTO vs. RPO: How to Prepare for a Business Impact Analysis

In my time as a security and compliance auditor and virtual CISO, I have reviewed countless business continuity plans (BCPs) resulting from regulatory and industry requirements to which clients must adhere. For the most part, the business continuity plans I have reviewed were written …

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Risk Management – Everyone Needs a Seat at the Table

Effective risk management strategies

In the security world there’s a common saying that compliance isn’t security and security isn’t compliance. I believe what gets missed in this saying is the role proper risk assessments and risk management play in marrying up security and compliance.

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