🚀 The world of consulting and professional services at large is changing like never before. For those with deep expertise and the humanity to make it stick, there has never been a better, more exciting time to be in these converging professions! I shared my thoughts on the role of Forward Deployed Engineers, Consultants, contractors, and professional services - in the age of AI - in Evan Schuman's latest @Computerworld article.

⚠️ Cyber threats target people and exploit human emotion, not just system vulnerabilities. 📱 I received an SMS phishing attempt today (one of hundreds per week) impersonating the @ILSecOfState and using urgency, fear, and legal language to drive action. This is exactly how modern social engineering works - exploit trust, create pressure, and trigger a reaction before verification. A few Wednesday-worthy reminders: 👆 Never click links in unexpected text messages ✔️ Verify requests through official channels 🚩 Treat urgency as a red flag, not a call to action 📨 These sorts of attacks extend far beyond email Cybersecurity is no longer just a tech issue. It’s a leadership, operational, and human-risk issue. </$0.02>

What an amazing couple of days with the NACD and US Secret Service Cybersecurity Board Academy. It was a wonderful event with great discussions and insights from real-life superheroes, experts, and board directors. I was proud to facilitate the “Securing the Board” session and share how to keep Directors safe from cyber threats. @JustinGreisCom @acceligence

🏎️💨 Speed is easy. Harnessing it safely is the hard part. 〰️The line between IT and the business is gone. Everyone can build. Few can do it responsibly. 📣 This is the new CIO mandate: enable innovation at speed without losing control. 🎚️We call it Safe Velocity. 💡Worth a read by my @acceligence colleague, Yuri Goryunov👇

🚀 Big news for @acceligence today! I’m incredibly excited to share that David Neuman has joined us as Partner and Chief Operating Officer. David has spent more than four decades leading cybersecurity and global operations at some of the most complex organizations in the world - from commanding the Air Force’s first cyber hunting unit to securing a $60B global supply chain. He’s also been serving as Chair of our Advisory Board, helping shape the firm behind the scenes. Now he’s jumping in full-time to help scale the firm and lead our cybersecurity practice. We’re living through one of the most significant technology shifts of our lifetime as AI reshapes how organizations operate, compete, and defend themselves. That kind of change demands leaders who understand both the technology and the operational realities of running complex enterprises. David is exactly that kind of leader. More importantly, he’s someone I trust deeply and genuinely enjoy working with - which matters more than any resume line. Also, after 40 years of leadership experience, he somehow still brings more energy to meetings than the rest of us combined. I’m still trying to figure out how he does that. Excited for what we’re building together. 👏 Welcome aboard, David.

This week's market reaction to Anthropic's Claude Code Security rollout signals something bigger than product momentum. It reflects a belief that parts of the security stack may be reordered as AI-native capabilities mature. Strengthening code security and the SDLC is a win. Models that can reason across large codebases and surface patterns that traditional tools miss represent real progress. But expanding one layer of the stack does not eliminate the rest. EDR, IAM, threat intelligence, and data protection (a few select examples) remain foundational. What’s changing is the operating model. AI is decoupling security outcomes from pure headcount growth. Coverage and speed to insight can increase without linear hiring. That shift will reshape strategy, workforce expectations, and competitive dynamics across the industry. Governance must evolve just as quickly. When foundation models become embedded in development pipelines, elements of your security posture are influenced by systems outside your direct control. The opportunity is significant. So is the responsibility. @acceligence CEO @JustinGreis shares his perspective with Evan Schuman in @CSOonline on what this means for security leaders navigating the next phase of AI-native defense. How are you thinking about competitive pressure, workforce evolution, and governance as AI moves deeper into the stack? 🔗 Read the full article here: csoonline.com/article/413629…

👏 Big kudos to PayPal for phasing out SMS-based MFA. 📰 I had the chance to weigh in on this in Evan Schuman's recent CSO Online piece - and he did a great job unpacking the tension between security, cost, and user friction. Appreciate the thoughtful coverage, Evan. 📱 SMS was always better than nothing. But that's a low bar. 📵 SIM swapping and SIM jacking attacks are still rising, and when your second factor is tied to a phone number that can be ported, compromised, or socially engineered, you don't have strong authentication - you have a speed bump. 🥸 And for a brand as heavily spoofed as PayPal, that risk isn't theoretical. Judging from my inbox, PayPal, Norton, and Geek Squad hold the title of the most spoofed brands in my spam folder. 🏆 🏋 The real tension has always been convenience versus security. Leaders worry about friction, security teams worry about exposure. Meanwhile, phishing-resistant options like passkeys and FIDO2 (not to mention authenticators) have been sitting there, waiting for broader adoption 🚩. And while they are not 100% perfect, they are much better than SMS! 🧐 So here's the question: are we optimizing for convenience, or for resilience? Does it have to be a choice with today's modern authentication? 🛬 Curious where others land... ❓❓❓ Is SMS-based MFA still "good enough" in your environment? ❓❓❓ 🚩 Reality flag: implementation and adoption of MFA is easier said than done on legacy systems... 🔗 csoonline.com/article/413425…

😱 Oh no! Did you miss the @bishopfox AI & Security Risks panel? 😎 No problem! Check out the replay on their website... 👏 Huge thanks to Andy Chou (Ventrilo), Christie Terrill (Bishop Fox), Kris Kimmerle (RealPage, Inc.), and Nick Selby (EPSD, Inc.) for a fun and insightful panel! And special shout-out to Rachel Chism and Gwen Murphy for orchestrating the whole thing. 🔗 Watch here:bishopfox.com/resources/ai-s… 🏷️ @acceligence • @JustinGreisCom

This will be fun! Join us for a great discussion on February 11 at 2:00 PM ET.

🤖 Agentic AI isn’t creating a new identity problem. 🔥 It’s pouring gasoline on one we never finished fixing. Non-human identities already outnumber humans by the millions in most enterprises. Autonomous agents just turn that imbalance into a math problem no CISO can win with human-scale processes. Most identity programs assume humans request access and wait for approval. Agentic AI doesn't. That gap is where control breaks down. We've spent years pretending we could inventory our way out of this. 😱 Spoiler: we can’t. Visibility is partial at best, governance foundations are shaky, and agents don’t politely wait for IAM workflows to catch up. They spawn, inherit trust, and act at machine speed. Evan Schuman does a great job reporting this important topic in @CSOonline, laying out why identity is quietly becoming the operating system of trust - and why applying human controls to machine-scale problems is a dead end. Worth the read if you're responsible for identity, security, or explaining to leadership why "just add more process" isn’t a strategy anymore. 👉 Read more here: csoonline.com/article/412324… 🗓️ If you enjoyed this article and topic, join me next week for a Bishop Fox panel on AI and security risks. Get all the details here: acceligence.com/about/news/e…

🔐 91% of users log in at their highest level of privilege. That’s not a tooling gap. That’s what happens when complexity wins, and humans do what humans always do - take the easy road. Always-on privileged access sticks around because it works…right up until it doesn't. Legacy systems, fragile integrations, and operational fear - sprinkled with a touch of process laziness - turn “temporary exceptions” into permanent risk. Multiply that by non-human identities, and things get spicy fast. Appreciate Evan Schuman for the smart, thoughtful reporting in CSO Online and for quoting me in this piece. It's a good look at why Privileged Access Management (PAM) is heading for a real reset - not because teams are careless, but because many of our access models were never designed for the environments we’re running today. Worth a read if you’re responsible for identity, risk, or explaining to a board why “least privilege” is harder than it sounds. 👉 csoonline.com/article/412318… #cybersecurity #identity #pam #risk #leadership

🌟 I’m super excited to welcome M.J. Vaidya as an Executive Advisor at @acceligence . I've gotten to know M.J. as someone who's actually lived at the intersection of cybersecurity, enterprise technology, and AI - not in theory, but in the chair. At a time when technology and cyber are converging, and the line between business strategy and technology strategy has all but disappeared, M.J. has led from the front. He's been accountable for outcomes, navigated real complexity, and tackled some of the hardest trust and emerging technology challenges that global organizations face today. One of the things I believe deeply is that leaders shouldn't have to slow down or learn the hard way when the stakes are high. Our executive advisors bring on-demand, real-world experience to help clients make better decisions faster - and M.J. embodies exactly what that looks like. I'm grateful for his innovative approach, his battle-tested track record, and the opportunity to build great things together.

✨ When I think about what makes an outstanding Executive Advisor, I look for three things: heart, head, and hands. ♥️ HEART - strong values, sound judgment, and a genuine care for people. 🧠 HEAD - deep expertise, insight, creativity, and the executive experience to see around corners. 👐 HANDS - the ability to turn strategy into action, communicate clearly, and actually get things done. That’s why I’m excited to welcome Michael Yadgar as an Executive Advisor at @acceligence. Michael brings all three (plus many more)... With three decades of board-level and executive experience, he has guided global enterprises through high-stakes transformation with operational discipline, technology foresight, and a people-first mindset. He knows how to lead complex change without losing momentum, trust, or humanity along the way. I’m thrilled to have Michael join our Executive Advisor team and look forward to the impact he’ll have on our clients and our work ahead. Welcome to the team, Michael. 🎉 🔗 Read more about Michael here: acceligence.com/talent/profi… 👥 Check out our growing Executive Advisor and board profiles here: acceligence.com/talent/profi… ✉️ Interested in joining? Drop us a line: acceligence.com/contact/

❌ Boards don’t need more cyber metrics; they need context. That context comes from leaders who understand the business, can articulate where risk lives, and can explain how today's strategy reshapes tomorrow's exposure and what we're going to do about it. I recently joined Paul John Spaulding on the Cybercrime Magazine Podcast to talk about why cyber resilience has become a core leadership competency. Not a technology problem to delegate, but a governance and decision-making challenge that shows up in the boardroom long before an incident or breach occurs. We discussed what actually differentiates organizations that handle cyber risk well: 🏭 CISOs who understand the business as deeply as they understand the threat landscape 🗜️ executive teams that practice decision-making under pressure ❓ boards that ask better questions because they’re given the right context The short version: resilience isn't built through controls and tools alone. It's built through clarity, preparation, and leadership. 🎧 Listen to the podcast and read the summary below 👇 or on acceligence.com/insights.

🥁 Ravinia Festival (ravinia.org) has always been about more than the music for me. It's walking through the park as the sun starts to dip, that unmistakable feeling that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. It's grabbing a scoop of Cappuccino Crunch 🍦 (IYKYK) and knowing summer has officially begun. It's singing along 🎤 to Weird Al, Charlie Puth, and James Taylor with my kids - sometimes on key, sometimes enthusiastically not - and realizing they are going to do the same with their kids. It's reconnecting with new and old friends 🤗 week after week, often without planning it, because Ravinia has a way of pulling people together. And it's seeing firsthand the impact Ravinia has beyond the lawn and the stage ❤️ - bringing music into the lives of communities through education, outreach, and access that changes lives. That's why I’m incredibly proud to share that @acceligence is supporting Ravinia Festival as a Mainstage Sponsor for the 2026 season. This partnership isn't about a logo on a program. It's about standing behind a place that creates pure joy, opens doors, and reminds us that culture, community, and coming together are essential - especially now. Big or small, support matters. If you're a company or organization looking for a way to give back, Ravinia is a wondrous place that brings magic into our lives every day. I'm grateful for the world-class Ravinia team, excited for what's ahead, and deeply honored to support an institution that has given my family (and so many others) memories we'll carry for a lifetime. 🎶

I've worked with Ian for years and I'm very excited to team up with him. He's an exceptional leader with a stellar track record of success and mission driven service. Welcome aboard, Ian! 👏🚀🎉

🧭 ❤️ Clarity, be it professional or personal, rarely announces itself. It lingers quietly, forming in the background while life unfolds. I am grateful to share this reflection on how listening to that truth changed the way I see my life, my work, and the path that eventually led me to build acceligence, and unapologetically pursue a life filled with meaning, purpose, and joy. 🔗 Read on JustinGreis.com: justingreis.com/blog/2025/12…

The secret formula for culture starts with values. I wrote about it in 2014. It’s still true. But values don’t matter unless they’re celebrated and encouraged. 🔗 justingreis.com/blog/2014/03… Today, we’re launching the acceligence values coin. Setting our values northstar from the very beginning anchors us to “the why” we’re on this journey and is the very foundation on which acceligence was founded. Culture isn’t what’s written. It’s what’s rewarded. The values coin exists to recognize the behaviors that actually define who we are and how we show up - in the moments that matter. No perks. No platitudes. No performance theater. Just values, made real.

🎉 I'm excited to welcome Michael Casey to @acceligence as an Executive Advisor! I learn something new every time I speak with Mike. He and I sat down to distill some insights and advice from his three decades in consulting, technology, and transformation, and I'm looking forward to sharing that this Thursday at acceligence.com/insights.