Cybersecurity • GRC • Digital Investigations • eDiscovery

Client Portfolio & Cybersecurity Advisory Experience

Alex Ali has supported enterprise, government, healthcare, financial services, technology, retail, and regulated industry clients in cybersecurity, GRC, digital investigations, data protection, eDiscovery, audit readiness, business continuity, and litigation support.

25+Years Cybersecurity Experience
30+Enterprise & Regulated Clients
13Professional & Legacy Certifications
NISTISO 27001 • PCI DSS • HIPAA • SOX
Advisory Services

Core Advisory Services

Cybersecurity, compliance, privacy, investigations, infrastructure security, and enterprise risk support.

Cybersecurity & GRC

Governance, risk management, compliance frameworks, control mapping, security policies, audit readiness, and security program support.

Data Privacy & Breach Response

PII analysis, privacy impact assessments, data protection reviews, breach response planning, and regulatory readiness.

eDiscovery & Litigation Support

Digital evidence support, investigation assistance, documentation review, and litigation-focused technical advisory.

BCP / DR / Cyber Recovery

Business continuity planning, disaster recovery testing, cyber recovery planning, resilience controls, and crisis readiness.

Education

Academic Background

Business, legal, cybersecurity, vendor risk, and governance-focused academic foundation supporting executive cybersecurity advisory, compliance, risk management, and technology leadership.

Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Singapore Business School

Selected Areas of Focus:

  • Business Process Improvement
  • Product Development and Strategic Innovation
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Third-Party / Vendor Cybersecurity Risk Assessment
  • Enterprise Risk Management and Governance

Legal Studies Coursework

Northwestern California University School of Law

Relevant Academic Exposure:

  • Legal research and legal reasoning
  • Business law and compliance concepts
  • Regulatory awareness and documentation review
  • Supportive foundation for cybersecurity, privacy, and governance advisory work
Professional Credentials

Professional Certifications

Industry-recognized cybersecurity, audit, privacy, risk management, information security, business continuity, and foundational technical certifications demonstrating both executive leadership and hands-on engineering experience.

Cybersecurity & Information Security

  • CISSP – Certified Information Systems Security Professional
  • CISM – Certified Information Security Manager
  • Associate CCISO

Audit, Risk & Compliance

  • CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor
  • CRISC – Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control
  • ISO 27001 Lead Auditor

Privacy, ISO & Continuity

  • CDPSE – Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer
  • ISO 27001 Lead Implementer
  • ISO 22301 Business Continuity

Legacy Technical Certifications

Foundational certifications demonstrating early career expertise in enterprise infrastructure, networking, systems administration, and network engineering.

  • Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer + Internet (MCSE+I)
  • Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
  • Certified Novell Administrator (CNA)
  • CompTIA A+
Enterprise Risk

Risk Domains & Security Capabilities

Enterprise risk analysis, modern security architecture, regulatory alignment, control assurance, and application security capabilities.

Risk Types

Strategic Risk Financial Risk Operational Risk Reputational Risk Compliance & Regulatory Risk Credit Risk Transaction Risk

Modern Security Skills

  • Zero Trust Security Architecture
  • API Security Assessment and Governance
  • Enterprise Infrastructure and IT Strategic Planning
  • Security Control Design, Mapping, Testing, and Remediation
  • Application, Cloud, Network, Database, and Transaction Security

Developed Assessment Solutions

  • Software Security Assessment (SSA) Tool
  • Security Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) Tool
  • Control assessment methodologies and evidence workflows
  • Risk-rating, issue tracking, and remediation support
Frameworks & Regulations

Security, Compliance & Assurance Frameworks

Experience supporting international directives, regulatory requirements, maturity models, security standards, attestations, and industry assessment programs.

International & Regulatory

  • Directive (EU) 2022/2555 — NIS2
  • 23 NYCRR Part 500 Cybersecurity Regulation
  • J-SOX / Japanese Sarbanes-Oxley
  • FDA regulatory and cybersecurity considerations
  • ISO/IEC 42001:2023 Artificial Intelligence Management System

Security & Maturity Standards

  • CMM / CMMI — Capability Maturity Model / Capability Maturity Model Integration
  • ISO/IEC 27001 Information Security Management Systems
  • ISO/IEC 27002 security control implementation guidance
  • OWASP Top 10 for Web Applications
  • Cloud security and risk assessment practices

Cloud & Assurance

  • Cloud Security Alliance (CSA)
  • Consensus Assessments Initiative Questionnaire (CAIQ)
  • SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 attestations
  • Third-party and vendor security assurance
  • Audit readiness, evidence validation, and control testing
Threat Modeling

Threat Modeling & GRC Platforms

Structured threat analysis, risk prioritization, governance workflows, security ratings, continuous compliance, and evidence-driven assurance.

Threat Modeling Methods

  • STRIDE
  • DREAD
  • PASTA
  • TRIKE
  • VAST

GRC & Risk Platforms

  • RSA Archer
  • BitSight
  • OneTrust
  • Drata
  • ServiceNow GRC

Assurance Activities

  • Risk and control assessments
  • Policy and standards governance
  • Audit and attestation support
  • Corrective action and remediation tracking
  • Executive risk reporting
Technology Experience

Enterprise Security Tools, Platforms & Infrastructure Technologies

Hands-on and advisory experience spanning identity, access control, network defense, SIEM, vulnerability management, application security, database security, policy management, and enterprise monitoring.

GRC, Risk & Compliance Platforms

  • RSA Archer
  • OneTrust
  • BitSight
  • Drata
  • ServiceNow GRC
  • Symantec Control Compliance Suite
  • FireMon Policy Manager
  • Vendor Risk and Assessment Platforms

Network Access, Identity & Authentication

  • Forescout CounterACT NAC
  • Cisco Network Access Control (NAC)
  • Cisco ACS
  • RSA SecurID
  • Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
  • Two-Factor and Multi-Factor Authentication
  • Zero Trust access-control concepts

Firewalls & Threat Prevention

  • Palo Alto Networks
  • Cisco PIX / ASA
  • Check Point NGX and Advanced Threat Prevention
  • Juniper NetScreen NS-100 / SRX
  • WatchGuard Firebox
  • Barracuda Networks
  • Microsoft ISA Server 2004 / 2006
  • Microsoft Threat Management Gateway (TMG)
  • Core Security Damballa Failsafe

SIEM, Logging & Security Monitoring

  • Splunk Enterprise Security
  • IBM Security QRadar
  • ArcSight SIEM
  • TriGeo SIEM
  • IBM Log Management
  • ManageEngine Firewall Analyzer
  • Security Information and Event Management (SIEM)
  • Security log monitoring, correlation, and incident support

Vulnerability Management & Penetration Testing

  • QualysGuard
  • Nessus
  • Rapid7 InsightVM / Nexpose
  • GFI LanGuard
  • Nmap
  • Retina
  • Tiger security tools
  • Kali Linux tools

Application & API Security Testing

  • Burp Suite
  • IBM AppScan
  • Micro Focus / HP Fortify WebInspect
  • Acunetix
  • OWASP Top 10 testing
  • Web application and API security assessments
  • Secure SDLC and software security reviews

Web & Database Security

  • Imperva SecureSphere Web Application Firewall
  • Check Point Web Intelligence
  • Imperva SecureSphere Database Firewall
  • Imperva Database Activity Monitoring
  • Imperva File Activity Monitoring
  • DB Protect
  • Protegrity data protection
  • SolarWinds Database Performance Monitoring

Infrastructure & Transaction Security

  • Enterprise infrastructure and IT strategic planning
  • Network security architecture and segmentation
  • Firewall deployment, migration, and rule governance
  • Security hardening and configuration management
  • Black-chain / blockchain transaction-security concepts
  • Incident response and threat monitoring
  • Cloud, network, application, and database resilience
Representative Experience

Selected Client Engagements

Representative consulting portfolio based on prior professional service experience.

Financial Services

Navy Federal Credit Union

Nov 2020 - Jul 2022
Cybersecurity Engineer VI

Enterprise cybersecurity engineering, governance, risk management, compliance support, security architecture, and cyber operations support.

Technology

Cisco Systems

Mar 2020 - Jul 2020
Security Risk & Compliance Consultant

CSDL application security validation, DevSecOps advisory, PII risk analysis, DIA, PIA, GRC meetings, and cloud business continuity planning.

Life Sciences / Technology

Agilent Technologies

Jun 2018 - Sep 2018
Senior Cybersecurity Advisor

GDPR, OneTrust, CAIQ cloud risk assessments, vendor risk management, data privacy analysis, and enterprise risk methodology improvement.

Technology

Synaptics

May 2017 - Sep 2017
Senior Cybersecurity Consultant

Cloud security assessments, AWS migration security review, ISO 27001 alignment, vendor risk, security policies, and executive reporting.

Government / Insurance

California State Compensation Insurance Fund

Sep 2016 - Apr 2017
Senior Security & GRC Consultant

PCI-DSS, TVM, secure SDLC, internal audit, vendor risk, security training, and GRC control mapping using Archer, RSAM, and ServiceNow.

Technology / eCommerce

eBay

May 2016 - Aug 2016
Senior Security & Compliance Advisor

Risk register enhancement, PCI assessments, Archer GRC controls, SOC audit support, policy reviews, and security strategy roadmap support.

Biotech / Healthcare

Gilead Sciences

Dec 2015 - May 2016
Senior Security & Compliance Advisor

Security compliance, regulatory readiness, risk assessments, vendor reviews, and security configuration control evaluation across enterprise platforms.

Healthcare / Consulting

PwC / Dignity Health

Apr 2015 - Jun 2015
PCI-DSS Assessor

PCI-DSS v3 assessments across 46 hospitals, HIPAA/RIM process review, security awareness training, and healthcare compliance support.

Healthcare / Education

UC Davis Health

Jun 2014 - Dec 2014
Senior Security Consultant

NIST 800-53 risk assessments, QRadar SIEM monitoring, NAC deployment, vulnerability management, application security testing, and healthcare security advisory.

Insurance

AIG

Oct 2012 - May 2014
Vendor Risk Assessor

Vendor lifecycle risk assessment, Archer GRC, security risk acceptance, ISO/NIST/CIS mapping, web application and infrastructure risk reviews.

Banking

U.S. Bank

Jul 2012 - Oct 2012
Security Consultant

Web application security testing, SDLC gap analysis, infrastructure risk assessment, penetration testing, and vulnerability remediation planning.

Financial Services

RIA Financial / Euronet Worldwide

Sep 2009 - Jan 2012
PCI-DSS Program Lead

PCI-DSS readiness, SIEM deployment, web application firewall implementation, vulnerability management, BCP/DR testing, and auditor coordination.

Retail

Walmart

Feb 2009 - Jul 2009
Security Consultant

HIPAA and PCI-DSS risk assessments, ePHI data flow mapping, control validation, and sensitive data protection advisory.

Telecommunications

AT&T

Aug 2008 - Nov 2008
Firewall Security Consultant

Firewall product testing, security validation, traffic flood testing, and certification of Cisco and Juniper network security devices.

Government

State of California

Apr 2008 - Jul 2008
Web Application Security Consultant

ISA firewall deployment, reverse proxy implementation, web application migration testing, external penetration testing, and BC/DR documentation.

Automotive

Toyota Motor North America

Jan 2008 - Apr 2008
Database Security Consultant

Oracle database security policy review, PII control matrix development, security gap analysis, and awareness program support.

Healthcare / Manufacturing

Abbott Laboratories

Feb 2007 - Jun 2007
Security Consultant

Security policy review, HIPAA, PCI, SOX data protection mapping, SOP/DOP gap analysis, and acquired entity integration support.

Healthcare Technology

StrataCare

Jul 2006 - Feb 2007
HIPAA / PCI Security Consultant

HIPAA and PCI risk assessments, Check Point firewall upgrades, RSA VPN, penetration testing, and security awareness program development.

Banking

Washington Mutual Bank / Chase

Feb 2006 - May 2006
Technology Risk Consultant

Acquisition technology migration planning, risk analysis, executive reporting, data flow diagrams, and infrastructure integration support.

Food / Agriculture

Calavo Growers

Feb 2002 - Feb 2006
Lead Security Consultant

SOX 404 IT controls, infrastructure upgrades, Active Directory, security policy manual, DR/BC planning, and audit remediation with external auditors.

Federal Government / Healthcare

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Nov 2000 - Dec 2001
Security Consultant

Internet gateway certification, firewall risk assessment, HIPAA compliance review, VPN security validation, and DR/BC testing for VA hospitals.

Automotive

Honda Motor America

Mar 2000 - Nov 2000
Systems Security Consultant

Enterprise systems patching, OS upgrades, access controls, backup assurance, uptime monitoring, and secure server deployment.

Hospitality

Claim Jumper

Jan 1999 - Mar 2000
Infrastructure Security Consultant

Firewall, LAN/WAN, Exchange, SQL, IIS server support, security policies, DR planning, audit metrics, and network documentation.

Banking

California Federal Bank

Sep 1998 - Dec 1998
Network Migration Consultant

Token Ring to Ethernet migration, desktop connectivity testing, MS Mail migration, and banking infrastructure support.

Engineering

Jacobs Engineering

Apr 1998 - Aug 1998
Network Engineer

LAN/WAN support, routers, switches, firewalls, remote access systems, and Windows NT business systems support.

Manufacturing

Eaton Corporation

Jan 1998 - Mar 1998
Network Engineer

LAN/WAN infrastructure management, firewall, router, switch, and remote access support.

Public Disclaimer:
We are a cyber law security compliance firm. We are not a law firm or attorneys, and we cannot provide legal advice. Should you require legal advice on your specific matter, please contact an attorney or call the State Bar of your state for a referral.