Kayne McGladrey, CISSP – Cybersecurity Advisor, Author of Cyber Risk is a Myth, Virtual CISO

I’m Kayne McGladrey, and I help organizations in construction, manufacturing, legal, transportation, logistics, and cybersecurity turn cybersecurity risk into business advantage. Through executive‑level advisory and targeted regulatory guidance, I help leaders to make confident, risk‑aware decisions. I also deliver keynote talks and have been featured on ABC News.

Virtual CISO Services for Growing Companies in Washington State & Beyond

Serving Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Montana, Hawaii, Wyoming, and Idaho. vCISO Retainers starting at $40,000/year for SMBs.

Bridging Cybersecurity and Business Risk

For growing companies, cybersecurity isn’t just an IT issue, it’s a business enabler. I help SMBs and mid-market firms translate technical risks into clear business outcomes, enabling founders and boards to make confident, risk-aware decisions. Operating as an executive advisor rather than technical implementer, I partner with your existing MSPs and IT staff to align strategy with operations. By aligning security strategies with growth objectives, we turn compliance into a competitive advantage that attracts investors and enterprise customers.

Navigating the Challenges of Compliance

Compliance shouldn’t stall your momentum. I guide startups and scaling firms through the complexities of SOC 2, ISO 27001, and other regulations without the overhead of a full-time team. Using my GRC Maturity Model, I help to build pragmatic frameworks that satisfy auditors and secure deals, turning regulatory hurdles into a streamlined path for market expansion.

Preparing for the Future of Regulation

The regulatory landscape is shifting fast, especially with AI and data privacy developments. I help forward-thinking organizations stay ahead of the curve with horizon scanning and practical adaptation strategies. I prioritize the frameworks that impact your ability to operate and sell – whether that means meeting new insurance mandates or preparing for upcoming tech legislation. My goal is to ensure your security posture is resilient and ready for tomorrow’s requirements, protecting your reputation and your bottom line.

Cybersecurity Strategy for Growing Enterprises

Photo of Kayne McGladrey speaking at a cybersecurity conference
100% Human-Authored – No generative AI for strategies or speaking notes.
Award: Master Expert in AI Governance
Award: Elite Expert in Risk Management
Award: Elite Expert in Cybersecurity
CISSP Professional Credential for Kayne McGladrey

I’m Kayne McGladrey, CISSP‑certified cybersecurity advisor, author of the GRC Maturity Model, and senior IEEE member. Over nearly three decades I’ve helped Fortune 500 and Global 1000 firms align governance, risk, and compliance with business strategy, reduce incident‑response times by up to 45%, and avoid $10 M+ in potential losses.

My work focuses on:

  • Translating technical risk into clear business outcomes for founders, boards, and executives who need CISO-level insight without the full-time overhead.
  • Building GRC frameworks that turn compliance into a deal-maker, so you can close enterprise contracts that require SOC 2 or ISO 27001.
  • Preparing growing companies for the regulations that actually matter to you – like cyber insurance requirements and client security questionnaires – so you can sell with confidence.

I offer Virtual CISO services to help companies align their cybersecurity stance with actionable business risks. I’m also open to paid interviews, sponsored articles, and webinars for brands in cybersecurity and AI governance. If you’re looking for expert content that’s human-written and backed by 250+ media features, check out my Partnerships page for rates and details.

Chart showing 94% of attendees say Kayne McGladrey's talks are relevant and engaging
Chart showing 100% of attendees say Kayne McGladrey's sessions are valuable
Chart showing 97% of attendees are interested in attending future talks

AI Regulation & Compliance Advisory

Below are selected external pieces where I discuss emerging threats, regulatory shifts, and practical GRC guidance. These illustrate the kinds of insight I bring to client engagements and public forums.

Post Types

Three Claude agents given conflicting orders sabotaged each other on a shared server — then didn’t tell users what they’d done
VentureBeat

Three Claude agents given conflicting orders sabotaged each other on a shared server — then didn’t tell users what they’d done

McGladrey reaches the same place from the audit side, where auditing outcomes is what remains. “We can audit code for compliance. We can audit code for security. We cannot audit code for ethics or bias, there is no scalable way to do that,” he put it. “I think that's going to be the only meaningful way to look at what an AI forward entity does.”
Grok 4.6 Arrives as SpaceX Claims All Employee Work as AI Training Material
Tech Times

Grok 4.6 Arrives as SpaceX Claims All Employee Work as AI Training Material

Kayne McGladrey, a senior member of the IEEE, has noted the structural distinction that explains why this matters for agent models specifically: "synthetic data lacks the unpredictability of human responses to the unexpected, such as when a window moves or is resized," and behavioral training data is what teaches a model "how tools flow together."
AI-Enabled Ghost Student Fraud: How IT Leaders Are Fighting Back
EdTech Magazine

AI-Enabled Ghost Student Fraud: How IT Leaders Are Fighting Back

“If you look at the successful investigations over the past five years, there’s been about $350 million in ghost student schemes that have been thwarted,” says Kayne McGladrey, a cybersecurity risk adviser and senior member of IEEE, a nonprofit professional organization that champions technical innovation.

More news and podcasts

Latest Articles

Frequently Asked Questions

Cyber Risk is a Myth is my first book published on CRC Press. The book includes downloadable resources and may become a course in December 2026.

Kayne McGladrey has written the “Weekly News Context” newsletter since 2020. Subscribers to the newsletter receive human-written cybersecurity, law, AI governance, and regulatory analysis. Subscribing is free.

The GRC Maturity Model is a framework Kayne McGladrey developed to help organizations assess and advance their Governance, Risk, and Compliance programs. It moves beyond checklist compliance to align security strategies with business objectives, enabling leaders to measure progress and reduce risk effectively.

A Virtual CISO provides executive-level cybersecurity leadership without the cost of a full-time hire. Kayne McGladrey advises B2B companies from startups to Fortune 500 and Global 1000 firms on translating technical risks into business outcomes, streamlining compliance efforts such as SOC 2 and ISO 27001, and building resilient security strategies that support growth.

Kayne McGladrey works with B2B organizations across diverse sectors, with specialized expertise in manufacturing, the defense industrial base, healthcare, finance, and technology. My focus is on helping regulated industries navigate complex frameworks like the EU AI Act, NIST, and DORA while maintaining operational agility.

Yes. Kayne McGladrey delivers keynote speeches, lead webinars, and produce sponsored blog content on topics including AI risk management, bridging cybersecurity with business strategy, and modernizing GRC programs. These engagements are tailored for executive audiences, boards, and technical teams. Visit my media partnership opportunities page for details.

Kayne McGladrey was a guest on ABC News on May 24th, 2026.

A vCISO delivers strategic leadership that aligns security with business goals, often saving SMBs up to $150,000 annually compared to a full-time executive. By optimizing controls and guiding teams toward certifications like SOC 2 or ISO 27001, we turn compliance into a competitive advantage that drives revenue and reduces risk.

vCISO retainers typically range from $40,000 to $120,000 per year, depending on the scope of services and industry requirements. We also offer fixed-price project options for well-defined needs and month-to-month flexibility, ensuring cost predictability while delivering C-suite level expertise.

No, I do not use generative AI to draft strategies, speaker notes, or blog content. My work is entirely human-authored to ensure nuance, accuracy, and authentic voice, though I may use AI tools strictly for proofreading and style guide alignment.

Glossary

A framework for measuring how well an organization’s Governance, Risk, and Compliance programs support its business goals, written by Kayne McGladrey. Rather than treating compliance as a checkbox exercise, the model helps leaders identify where they are today and chart a practical path toward more mature, effective risk management.

An experienced cybersecurity leader who provides strategic security guidance to organizations on a flexible, part-time basis. A vCISO delivers the same executive-level direction as a full-time CISO, including risk assessment, compliance oversight, and incident response planning, without the overhead of a permanent hire.

A European Union regulation that requires financial institutions and their technology providers to ensure they can withstand and recover from digital disruptions. DORA covers areas such as ICT risk management, incident reporting, third-party oversight, and operational resilience testing.

A globally recognized cybersecurity certification awarded by ISC2. It validates deep expertise across eight security domains, including risk management, security architecture, and software development security, and requires ongoing professional education to maintain.

A security compliance framework developed by the AICPA that evaluates how well an organization protects customer data across five trust criteria: security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. Achieving SOC 2 compliance is often a prerequisite for selling to enterprise customers.

An international standard that specifies the requirements for establishing, implementing, and continuously improving an Information Security Management System (ISMS). Organizations certified to ISO 27001 demonstrate a systematic approach to managing sensitive data and reducing information security risks.

A European Union law that establishes rules for the development, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence systems. It classifies AI applications by risk level, from minimal to unacceptable, and imposes increasing compliance obligations on organizations as the risk level rises.

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