Hire the Best Certified Information Systems Security Professionals (CISSP)

"Top Rated Plus" cybersecurity consultant and published author with 25+ years of experience specializing in penetration testing. Clients hire me when they need senior-level testing that includes clear scoping, reporting that drives remediation, and efficient execution. I’ve led red team and penetration testing work for Fortune 100 enterprises, government agencies, and startups. My assessments are designed to simulate realistic attacker behavior, prioritize what matters most, and produce results that are easy for technical teams to reproduce and fix. Areas of expertise: * Web application testing (OWASP Top 10, authentication/session flaws, access control, input validation, SSRF, IDOR, RCE) * API testing (token/session handling, authorization boundaries, input validation, business logic, fuzzing where appropriate) * Internal and external network testing (Windows, Linux, hybrid) with segmentation and control validation * Active Directory testing (enumeration, privilege escalation simulation, attack path validation) * AWS and Azure security reviews (misconfigurations, IAM privilege analysis, exposure discovery, logging and monitoring validation) * Compliance-aligned testing and guidance (PCI DSS, HIPAA, CIS, NIST and more) What you can expect: * Strong communication, documented scope, and no surprises * Findings prioritized by real-world impact, not just scanner output * Executive summary plus actionable remediation steps your team can use immediately * Optional live debrief and remediation testing Certifications: CISSP, CCSP, ISSMP, AWS Security Specialty, AWS Solutions Architect, CCNP Security, and more. Published author of multiple penetration testing books and a frequent security conference speaker.

Need an effective, defensible, responsibly-priced cybersecurity program? My consultancy has helped a wide variety of organizations - from smaller SaaS startups to larger Fortune 1000 brands you know and trust - realize comprehensive, integrated, end-to-end cybersecurity aligned with: • Institutional goals and internal risk appetite. • Client supply chain questionnaires / contract requirements. • Industry and regulatory requirements (e.g. GLBA, PCI-DSS, HIPAA, NYS DFS 23 NYCRR 500, DFARS / CMMC) • NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and / or good industry practices (e.g. SOC Readiness, NIST Special Publications 800-30, 800-37, 800-53, 800-171) My consulting practice is reputable, insured, and responsibly priced, and you can expect quality results, because I’m an award-winning, former IT / cybersecurity leader with: • Two decades of experience. • M.Sc. in Information Security & Assurance • M.B.A. in Information Technology Management • A wide variety of advanced industry certifications, including the CISSP and CISA. Beyond cybersecurity program compliance, I can represent your organization as a Chief Information Security Officer on a cost-effective, fractional basis supporting any further cybersecurity needs, including: • Risk assessments. • Audit response / defense. • Vulnerability scanning & penetration testing. • Policy development (e.g. Incident Response, Vulnerability Management, Secure Development) • Disaster recovery & business continuity planning. • Third-party risk / supply chain reviews. • Cybersecurity marketing (e.g. architecture diagrams and white paper development that illustrate, showcase good practices) • Capability / tool implementation & support (e.g. Data Loss Prevention, Multi-Factor Authentication) Wherever your organization stands in its cybersecurity journey, I’m almost always able to come up with a responsible, defensible solution within the budget available - often at a fixed cost - so please book a consultation with me to discuss your unique circumstances!

Organizations don't fail because they lack technology. They fail because security weaknesses remain undiscovered until attackers exploit them. 𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒄𝒚𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒗𝒊𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔? I help startups, enterprises, and government organizations build secure, compliant, and resilient environments. 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 15+ 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔-𝒐𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒄𝒚𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒊𝒏𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒔𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝑺𝒆𝒄𝑶𝒑𝒔, 𝑰 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉. I do not provide generic recommendations or automated scan reports. I deliver actionable security insights, practical remediation strategies, and measurable improvements that directly support business objectives. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. 💼 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞: ✔ Penetration Testing (Web, API, Network, Cloud) ✔ Vulnerability Assessment & Risk Management ✔ ISO 27001, SOC 2, NIST & Security Compliance ✔ Cloud Security (AWS & Azure) ✔ DevSecOps & CI/CD Security ✔ Identity & Access Management (IAM) ✔ Windows & Linux System Administration ✔ Security Architecture & Infrastructure Hardening ✔ SIEM, Security Monitoring & Incident Response 🛠️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 🔹 Comprehensive Security Assessments 🔹 Actionable Remediation Recommendations 🔹 Compliance Gap Analysis & Readiness Support 🔹 Cloud & Infrastructure Security Reviews 🔹 Secure DevOps Implementation 🔹 Security Policies, Standards & Procedures 🔹 Risk Reduction & Security Improvement Strategies ⭐ 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞? ✔ 15+ Years of Proven Cybersecurity Experience ✔ Expertise Across Security, Compliance, Infrastructure, and Cloud ✔ Business-Focused Security Solutions ✔ Strong Technical and Strategic Leadership ✔ Deep Understanding of Modern Threat Landscapes ✔ Clear Communication and Executive-Level Reporting ✔ Trusted Advisor for Long-Term Security Initiatives ✔ Hands-On Experience with Complex Security Environments Cybersecurity is no longer optional. A single vulnerability, misconfiguration, or compliance failure can lead to financial loss, operational disruption, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage. 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒚 𝒗𝒖𝒍𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔, 𝑰 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒑 𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒛𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒔, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒔𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐜𝐲𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐞 with a business-focused approach, let's discuss how I can help secure your environment. Connect with me today! 🌐 #CyberSecurity #InformationSecurity #Pentest #Compliance # DevOps #System Administration #IAM #GRC #CloudSecurity #SecurityOps #NIST #GuardianOfYourData #Cybersecurity #EthicalHacking #InformationSecurity

🔒 You need security that actually works — not a report that says it does. The organisations I work with want to find the vulnerabilities that matter, fix them with confidence, and get on with growing their business without security becoming the thing that stops them. I have delivered over 1,000 commercial penetration tests across 27 years. Not side projects. Not internal assessments. Full mission-critical engagements for high street and investment banks, hedge funds, insurance firms, government departments, police, military, national infrastructure, retailers, law firms, airports and more. I led the security architecture for the Athens 2004 Olympics internet-facing systems. I was lead architect on the UK Cyber Essentials scheme at launch. I have published in commercial security press and guest lectured at universities. There is a difference between someone who does penetration testing and someone who has seen every flavour of environment, every attack pattern, and every way organisations deceive themselves about their security posture. That difference is what you are hiring. 🎯 Where can I help: 🗡️ Network & Infrastructure Penetration Testing — adversarial testing of internal and external infrastructure, finding exploitable exposures before an attacker does. 🌐 Application Penetration Testing — web application and API security testing against real attack patterns: authentication, authorisation, input handling and business logic flaws. ☁️ Microsoft 365 Security Assessment — Entra ID, Conditional Access, PIM, Intune, DLP, sensitivity labelling, Exchange Online and Defender for Office 365. 🔷 Azure Security Assessment — identity and access management, network controls, storage and key management, Defender for Cloud posture, and monitoring coverage. 🟢 Google Workspace, GCP & AWS Security Assessments — configuration and access control assessments across Google and Amazon cloud environments. 🏛️ Security Architecture and Risk Advisory — senior technical input on architecture decisions, control design and risk without a full engagement commitment. 👤 Every engagement is delivered directly by me — David Morgan, founder of Metis Security. No account management layer, no junior handoffs, no templated output. You work with the person conducting the analysis and writing the report. 📋 How I work is as important as what I find Every finding in my reports is one I will defend as genuinely material to your environment. No padding, no low-hanging fruit included to justify the fee, no default risk ratings copied from a scanner. If your context changes the risk, the rating reflects that. What you receive: ✅ A visually structured report with clear separation between executive summary, findings and remediation roadmap — written to be read by people who are not security specialists ✅ Risk ratings adjusted to your specific environment and context, not defaulted from a tool ✅ A prioritised remediation roadmap so your team knows exactly what to fix first and why it matters commercially ✅ Immediate escalation of any high-risk finding or schedule-affecting issue during the engagement — you are never waiting until the end to hear something important ✅ Daily status updates so you always know where the engagement stands ✅ A debrief call at close to walk through findings, answer questions and finalise the report before it is delivered CISSP | ISSAP | Microsoft Security certifications | 27 years If you need to know whether your environment is genuinely secure — not whether it looks configured — I am worth a conversation.

I am the founder of BetterCyber Consulting, a cybersecurity consulting and managed services firm specializing in startups, small businesses, and mid-sized companies. As an Upwork Expert-Vetted Cybersecurity Consultant, I help businesses identify risks, implement security controls, and meet compliance requirements without unnecessary costs or complexity. My experience in cybersecurity includes positions at Fortune 100 companies like PayPal and Marathon Petroleum. I hold several security certifications and earned a master’s degree in Information Security Engineering from The SANS Technology Institute. I offer the following cybersecurity services: ● Technical Security Assessments – Security reviews for AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, and more. ● Penetration Testing – Web, cloud, mobile, and on-premises security testing. ● Compliance Assessments – NIST 800-171 & 800-53, FedRAMP, ISO 27001, CIS Controls, CMMC, HIPAA, and SOC 2. ● Security Strategy & Architecture – Build scalable security programs. ● Incident Response & Threat Mitigation – Detect and respond to threats. ● Managed Security Services – Ongoing security monitoring and advisory. ● Virtual CISO (vCISO) Services – Security leadership for businesses without a full-time CISO.

Trusted Advisor 🥇 🚀 Get Audit-Ready in 6 Weeks — Guaranteed. Confused by compliance? I translate complex regulations into simple, actionable steps. Whether you need to win enterprise trust with ISO 27001 or unblock sales with a SOC 2 report, I provide the fastest, most cost-effective path to certification. Why hire a consultant when you can hire a Strategic Partner? As the Founder of Axipro, I’ve led over 100 successful certifications in the last year alone. We don't just "give advice"—we handle the heavy lifting. 🛠 THE GRC TOOL EXPERT Are you struggling with your automated GRC platform? I am an official partner and power user of: ✅ Drata (Gold Partner) ✅ Vanta (Expert Implementation) ✅ Secureframe, Thoropass, Sprinto, Scrut, & more. I can help you get your progress running in record time and even provide discounted subscription rates through our MSSP partnership. 🛡 ONE-STOP COMPLIANCE SHOP - Policies & Procedures: Custom-tailored, audit-ready documentation. - Risk Management: Deep-dive assessments that protect your business. - Security Questionnaires: Get them off your desk and submitted in hours, not weeks. - Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testings: Remediation recommendations and detailed reports to improve security posture - CPA Attestation: We have in-house CPAs to sign off on your SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 reports. 🌍 GLOBAL STANDARDS COVERED ISO 27001, 9001, 14001, 45001, 27701, 27017, 27018, 42001 (AI) | SOC 2 Type 1 & 2 | HIPAA | PCI DSS | GDPR | FedRAMP | NIST CSF | CMMC | TISAX | HITRUST | SAMA NCA ⭐ WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING "Ali is a lifesaver. He got us SOC 2 certified through Vanta and saved us months of work." — Founder, Druxia (USA) "Knowledgeable, professional, and incredibly responsive. Ali got us across the line with Drata for ISO 27001." — Founder, Tilt Legal (AUS) 💎 THE AXIPRO ADVANTAGE 10+ Years Experience: Lead Engineer & Auditor minds