Short guides for the people who have to decide
Written for executives and counsel, not for security teams. Each one covers a single decision that matters far more than it appears at first.
Read Before You Rely on a Security Provider
Practical considerations for selecting or reassessing one, through an incident response lens. Eleven sections of questions to ask a provider and yourself before you sign.
It is a list of questions, not answers. What a good answer looks like depends on your contracts, your insurance, and how you actually operate.
The goal is not to find the provider with the longest list of capabilities. It is to understand exactly what you are buying, what you are not buying, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Every question is marked by who should answer it — and every section closes with what to be wary of.
- 01Know what the provider is covering for you
- 02Know what happens when something happens
- 03Know your insurance requirements
- 04Know how they will work with your team
- 05Know what it will actually cost
- 06Know you have it all in writing
- 07Know how they will access your environment
- 08Know what evidence will be available
- 09Know whether it is working
- 10Know what happens when it ends
- 11Know when to ask for help
What is coming
Each guide starts with a recurring question. If there is one you would pay to have answered like this, tell me.
When a guide is not enough
A guide tells you what to ask. It cannot tell you what your own organization would answer, or which of those answers disagree with each other. If that is what you need, that is my Assessment.