Blog & Guides
Practical cybersecurity articles, step-by-step guides, and quick-reference cheat sheets — from Active Directory hardening to Microsoft 365 and zero trust. Written by someone who's done the work. No hype, no fluff.
ISO 27001 vs SOC 2 vs NIST CSF: Which Compliance Framework Does Your Business Actually Need?
ISO 27001 is a certification, SOC 2 is an attestation report, and NIST CSF 2.0 is a voluntary framework — three different answers to "prove you are secure," each favoured by different customers and geographies. This guide compares them head to head on what they are, who asks for them, cost, timeline and effort, then gives a decision framework for choosing one (or sequencing several), and shows how to build a single control set that satisfies all three at once.
NIST CSF 2.0 Explained: The Six Functions, Tiers, and Profiles — A Practical Guide
The NIST Cybersecurity Framework 2.0, released in February 2024, is a voluntary framework for organising, assessing and communicating cybersecurity risk. Version 2.0 added a sixth function — Govern — and widened the framework beyond critical infrastructure to organisations of every size. This guide explains the six Functions and their Categories, the Core / Tiers / Profiles structure, how to run a Current-to-Target gap assessment, the new Govern function and CSF Tiers, and how CSF maps to ISO 27001 and SOC 2 so it becomes the connective tissue of a single compliance programme.
SOC 2 Explained: Trust Services Criteria, Type 1 vs Type 2, and How to Pass Your First Audit
SOC 2 is a US attestation report, written by a licensed CPA firm, that tells your customers whether the controls protecting their data are designed well (Type 1) and operating effectively over time (Type 2). This guide explains the five Trust Services Criteria, how the Security "Common Criteria" map to the COSO framework, the difference between Type 1 and Type 2, how to choose your scope and observation window, what evidence auditors sample, a realistic timeline and cost, and how SOC 2 lines up with ISO 27001 and NIST CSF so one control set can satisfy all three.
ISO 27001 Explained: A Complete Guide to the ISMS and Certification in 2026
ISO/IEC 27001 is the international standard for an information security management system (ISMS) — a risk-based, auditable way to prove you manage security as a system, not a checklist. This guide covers what the standard actually requires (Clauses 4–10 plus the 93 Annex A controls of the 2022 revision), the 2024 climate amendment, how certification works, a realistic timeline and cost, the evidence auditors expect, and how ISO 27001 maps to SOC 2 and NIST CSF so you can satisfy more than one framework at once.
The 2026 SysAdmin Blueprint: From Keeping the Lights On to Building the Platform
Gartner projected that 80% of large software engineering organizations would run platform teams by 2026 — and that future has arrived, rewriting the sysadmin job description along the way. The role is not disappearing; it is being productized. Here is what carries over, the canonical 2026 platform stack (Kubernetes, Terraform, Backstage, Argo CD, Prometheus, OPA), a practical 12-month transition roadmap for working sysadmins, and what IT leaders should do before hiring outside platform engineers.
PowerShell for Microsoft 365 Administration: Why the GUI Isn't Enough in 2026
The Microsoft 365 admin center is fine for one user, one mailbox, one policy. It falls apart at fifty — and it cannot do half of what the platform actually supports. PowerShell is where bulk operations, security auditing, incident response and automation live, and after the 2025 retirement of the MSOnline and AzureAD modules, the tooling map has been redrawn. Here is why PowerShell administration still matters for the Microsoft 365 and security suites, which modules to use now, what the portals cannot do, and how to automate without leaving credentials lying around.
Which Microsoft 365 Plan Do I Actually Need for My Business? Basic vs Standard vs Premium in 2026
Microsoft 365 Business Basic covers email, Teams and web apps; Business Standard adds the desktop Office suite; Business Premium adds the security and device-management layer most small businesses are missing — Entra ID P1, Intune, Defender for Business and Defender for Office 365. With the July 2026 price increase now in effect and new capabilities rolling into every tier, here is what each plan actually includes, what it costs, and a decision framework for picking the right one — including when to skip the Business plans entirely and go enterprise.
Windows 10 ESU Extended to October 2027: What Changed, What It Costs, and How to Decide
Microsoft has quietly extended the Windows 10 consumer Extended Security Updates program by a full year — coverage now runs through 12 October 2027, and enrollment stays open until the program ends. But the business ESU terms have not changed: Year 2 starts in October 2026 at $122 per device, and late joiners must buy Year 1 retroactively. Here is exactly what changed, what it costs for home users and organisations, the free paths most admins overlook, and a decision framework for the October deadline.
Ghost Phishing: How the EvilTokens Campaign Hides in the Browser to Hijack Microsoft 365 Accounts
A new "ghost phishing" wave from the EvilTokens kit is slipping past email security by keeping its payload AES-encrypted until it renders in the victim's browser, then using Microsoft device-code phishing to take over Microsoft 365 accounts without ever stealing a password. This guide breaks down how the technique works, why traditional URL and email controls miss it, who is being hit, and the concrete detection and hardening steps to defend your tenant.