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When to Hire a PCI Compliance Consultant (and What They Actually Do)
by Patrick Hughes on June 25, 2026 at 4:17 PM
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If your business stores, processes, or transmits cardholder data, PCI DSS compliance isn't optional. But knowing that you need to comply is a very different thing from knowing how to actually get there. Somewhere between your first self-assessment questionnaire and your first failed s …
PCI DSS Compensating Controls: When & How to Use Them
by Kelly O’Brien on June 17, 2026 at 4:42 PM
Every organization that stores, processes, or transmits payment card data eventually runs into the same wall. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) sets a clear bar, but a legacy system, a vendor limitation, or a business reality can make a specific requirement im …
What the 2026 Verizon DBIR Means for Your SOC 2 Compliance Program
by Rachel Hughes on June 10, 2026 at 3:55 PM
The 2026 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) recently dropped. Vulnerability exploitation is officially the #1 breach vector at 31%. It is now the #1 way attackers are getting in, surpassing credential abuse, which dropped from 22% down to just 13% as an initial access me …
Subservice Organizations in SOC Reports: Carve-Out vs. Inclusive Method
by Rachel Hughes on June 9, 2026 at 4:33 PM
When a service organization relies on another vendor to perform part of its service, that vendor relationship doesn’t disappear from the SOC audit. Think of a payroll processor using a third-party data center, for example, or a SaaS company built on a major cloud infrastructure provid …
CMMC Scoping Guide: How to Define Your Level 2 Assessment Boundary
by Derek Boczenowski on June 5, 2026 at 11:30 AM
One of the most consequential (and most misunderstood) steps in preparing for CMMC compliance is defining the scope of your assessment boundary. Scope too broadly and you’re burdening your organization with unnecessary controls and cost. Scope too narrowly and you risk leaving Control …
Does SOC 2 Reduce Security Questionnaires, or Just Change Them?
by Derek Boczenowski on May 28, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Every B2B vendor chasing enterprise deals eventually asks the same thing. We are pouring real money and real calendar time into a SOC 2 Type 2 report, so will it actually reduce the security questionnaires we get buried under, or will buyers just keep sending them anyway?