Daryl Daley, CD - Recruiter

IT Recruiter

★ Senior Tech Recruiter ★ Career Coach ★ | Building Elite Teams | Crafting Tech Careers | Connecting Talent with Opportunity | Mastering the Art of Tech Recruitment and Career Fulfillment |

Building Elite Teams. Transforming Careers. Solving Hiring Challenges (Without the Caffeine Overload).

Great! You’re here! 

Whether you’re hiring top talent or looking for your next big career move, I’m here to help.

Hi, I’m Daryl, a Senior Tech Recruiter, Career Coach, and Executive Search Specialist—your trusted guide for hiring the right talent and unlocking career potential.

With 30+ years of experience, I’ve helped companies across tech, cybersecurity, and consulting industries secure top talent while empowering professionals to land impactful roles. Whether you’re hiring for mission-critical positions or ready to take control of your career, I deliver proven strategies, tailored guidance, and real results.

For Companies
Hiring top talent doesn’t have to feel like a never-ending search.

🔍 My Expertise:

Key Talent Recruitment: Recruiting for high-impact technical, cybersecurity, and consulting roles across mid-level and senior leadership.
Executive Search: Helping organizations secure the leadership they need to innovate and thrive.
Results-Focused Strategies: Delivering candidates who hit the ground running, make an impact, and stay for the long term.

📈 The result? Faster hiring, better candidates, and stronger teams built to succeed.

For Professionals
Your next big career move isn’t hiding—it’s waiting for the right strategy.

As a career coach, I’ve guided over 10,000 job seekers to stand out, land interviews, and negotiate offers with confidence.

🚀 What My Clients Achieve:

An immediate increase in inbound interest from recruiters and hiring managers.
More traction with resumes, leading to interviews and offers.
A targeted, strategic job search that eliminates “rage applying” and focuses on roles that align with their goals.
Confidence in interviews, with compelling stories that showcase their unique value.
Stronger negotiating power, resulting in offers they’re excited to accept.

Why Work With Me?
Proven Expertise: 30+ years in tech recruiting and career coaching means I’ve seen it all—and solved it all.
Personalized Approach: No cookie-cutter templates—everything is tailored to your unique needs.
Real Results: Whether it’s building a high-performing team or landing a dream role, my strategies deliver measurable success.

Let’s Connect
Your next hire—or career breakthrough—is just a conversation away.

📩 Message me on LinkedIn
📅 Schedule a Call:
🌐 Explore Resources: 

Whether you’re building your team or your future, let’s make it happen—and maybe even enjoy the process along the way.

Tech Recruiter - Acquirer of High Performance Talent

RESULTS I DELIVER
• Better quality search results. If you are pitting one firm against another, they will race against each other (for a brief while) to get resumes to you as quickly as possible. Because of the imposed urgency, you are likely to see a number of unqualified resumes. Non-exclusive recruiters often hope to get lucky and hit a match, rather than putting in the effort to screen properly.

•  Deeper and broader search. Committing to one recruiter will allow that recruiter to spend the time to network and headhunt to uncover the very best candidate for your requirements, rather than just pulling resumes out of a database.

•  Less work for the hiring manager. If you are working with multiple search firms, you will get a lot more resumes than you would working with just one recruiter. However, many of those resumes will not match your hiring needs, which just makes more work for the hiring manager. Not to mention time spent sorting out candidate ownership disputes between multiple firms.

•  Better candidate experience. Have you ever received the same resume from more than one recruiter? It can make your company look unprofessional if more than one recruiter interviews a candidate about the same job. And you may see some great candidates back out of the process entirely when multiple firms are involved.

•  Confidentiality. For a confidential search, working with more than one recruiting firm makes no sense. It will be impossible for a recruiter to keep the company name confidential if there are multiple search firms involved.

Daryl Daley

The counteroffer is an insult dressed up as respect.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂.
They're buying time to replace you.

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰.

I've watched this pattern for 30+ years. Someone gets another offer. Suddenly the budget appears. The promotion that was "not possible" becomes available. The manager who had no time clears their calendar.

Here's the truth: the problem that made you look doesn't disappear with more money.

More money doesn't fix a bad manager.
A new title doesn't fix a broken culture.
Promises don't fix neglect.

You already mentally left. The counteroffer just delays it.

Most people who accept are gone within 6-18 months anyway (anecdotal evidence). Because nothing actually changed except the number on your paycheck.

And you burned the bridge with the company that wanted you without leverage.

Here's what I tell every candidate: 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿. Companies will always do what's in their best interest. You need to do what's in yours.

Take the new job.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

★ Senior Tech & Cybersecurity Recruiter ★ Career Coach ★ 30+ Years Driving Elite Technical & Executive Hires ★ Helping Companies Solve Hard-to-Fill Roles ★ We’re Always Hiring Top Talent! ★

𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗴𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄?
You've been asking yourself
this for six months.

𝗜𝗳 𝗜 𝗴𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲. New company, new politics, new proof required.

𝗜𝗳 𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗲. Same dead-end projects, same empty promises, same salary you've outgrown.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻'𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲.

I know. You're waiting for a sign. Waiting for the promotion they keep delaying. Waiting for the market to feel safer. Waiting for permission.

𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄.

Here's the sign: your manager hasn't mentioned your promotion in eight months. The "high-visibility project" went to someone else. You're doing director work at senior pay.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗸.

That's the pattern you're living in. Monday your VP says you're "essential." Wednesday you're excluded from the strategy meeting. Friday they hire someone external for the role you were building toward.

You already know the answer.

You're just afraid of being wrong.

But staying when the data says go isn't safe. It's expensive. You're leaving $40K on the table every year you wait. You're losing skills because you're not being challenged. You're getting older in a market that rewards movement.

𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼𝗺 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲?

You're asking the wrong people. Your company won't tell you. Your manager can't tell you. The market already has.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗲, 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲.

Your company already answered. They're just not saying it out loud.

𝗦𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝘄?

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝟭𝟵𝟴𝟮. You know it now.

Stop waiting for perfect timing. It doesn't exist.

The ones who move when the data says move are three levels higher. The ones who wait for certainty are still waiting.

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Everyone keeps saying it's an employer's market.
Unemployment sits at 4.4%. Your inbox is fuller than it's been in months.

So yeah, on paper it looks like you're in the driver's seat.

Except your critical roles are still open. Delivery keeps slipping. And the talent shortages in IT, healthcare, and energy are sitting at 76-77%.

If this were really an employer's market, those numbers wouldn't exist.

Here's what's actually happening.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘆𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁. The inbox is full of people who can do the job adequately. They'll show up. They'll execute tasks. They won't move the needle.

The people who can actually solve your problems? They're not flooding your applicant tracking system. They're working. And they're watching you.

They see the hesitation. The reluctance to commit to headcount even though placements doubled in February. The AI-driven layoffs that are cutting faster than you're building capability.

They're unimpressed.

You're posting roles, then pulling back. You're interviewing in rounds that stretch for weeks. You're asking for another stakeholder meeting while your competitor makes an offer.

The best talent doesn't wait for you to get comfortable. They take the role that moves.

I've watched this pattern for 30 years. Companies mistake activity for advantage. More applications doesn't mean better hires. It just means more noise.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗽 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗼𝗹. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁.

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘅 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯?

An hour later: Meetings continue without you.
A week later: Someone steps up.
A month later: Shortcuts appear.
A year later: You're a footnote.

And that's the truth.

If quitting feels like erasing yourself, you didn't lose security.
You lost an identity you outsourced to an employer.

I've watched this for 30 years.
𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗹𝘆.

Ready to build that career? DM me.

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗱.

And you're doing it backwards.

Here's what you're wasting time on:

Memorizing answers to "tell me about yourself"

Practicing responses to common behavioral questions

Reading the company's mission statement and values page over & over.

Rehearsing why you want to work there

None of that separates you.

Here's what actually matters:

All hiring is reactive. Something isn't working. Revenue is flat. A team is overloaded. A system is broken. Someone quit.

Your job isn't to recite your background.

It's to prove you can solve their specific problem.

Real prep looks like this:

Research what's actually broken. Read their earnings calls, press releases, Glassdoor reviews. Find the pain.

Prepare questions that show you understand their reality. Not "what's the culture like?" Ask "what's the biggest bottleneck in your current process?"

Connect your past work to their current problem. Show the before and after. Make it concrete.

Stop memorizing scripts.

Start thinking like someone who already has the job.

That's what hiring managers notice.

That's what gets offers.

graphical user interface, text, chat or text message

I'm working an executive search when my client pivots mid-call.
"𝗪𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝟰𝟳 𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗢𝗽𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀."

I'm thinking this could be my next search. Then I hear his reasoning.

First candidate: "Didn't demonstrate enough AI literacy."

I pause. "What does AI literacy mean for a DevOps Engineer in your environment?"

Silence.

Second candidate: "Lacked strategic thinking."

"How did you test for that?"

"Whiteboard puzzle. They couldn't solve it fast enough."

I'm three decades into this work. I've seen this pattern hundreds of times.

The problem isn't the candidates.

It's that my client has no idea what problem they're actually hiring to solve.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 "𝗔𝗜 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆" 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗶𝘁.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 "𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴" 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀.

They rejected 47 qualified people for reasons that have nothing to do with the work.

Here's what the data shows: 59% of HR leaders say they can't find skilled talent. And 62% are facing crises because their job requirements are unclear.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲.

𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲. (𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲)

𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱.

Companies spend months searching for the perfect candidate while their actual problem goes unsolved. They filter for buzzwords. They test for irrelevant skills. They reject people who could do the job because those people don't fit a checklist nobody can explain.

Meanwhile, qualified candidates are sitting in your pipeline wondering why they keep getting rejected.

The fix isn't more candidates.

It's better questions:

What specific problem does this role solve in the next 90 days?

What does success look like six months in?

What skills actually matter for that outcome?

𝗨𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲, 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲.

And no amount of "skilled talent" will fix that.

Clients Job posting: "𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗿𝘆."
Me: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲?
Them: 𝗗𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲.

Me: What's the range?

Them: We prefer to discuss that later.

Me: What's the range?

Them: 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘴

I've been recruiting for 30 years.

This conversation still happens every single week.

And it never stops being ridiculous.

Here's what "competitive salary" actually means:

We benchmarked against companies we'll never name. We have a number. But we're not telling you because we think you'll negotiate better if you're flying blind.

Spoiler: You won't.

You'll just get annoyed and ghost us.

Or you'll waste three weeks interviewing only to find out we're $40K apart.

Nobody wins this game.

Not the candidate who's trying to pay rent.

Not the hiring manager who just lost their top choice.

Not me, stuck in the middle explaining why we can't just say the number.

The fix is simple. Some jurisdictions get it. Parts of Canada, the US, and Western Europe now legally require salary ranges in postings. They're forcing the transparency the rest of us should've had all along.

But we won't do that because someone in 1987 decided salary negotiations should feel like hostage negotiations.

And we've been stuck ever since.

HappyFriday

Stop playing games with people's livelihoods.

I check 100+ LinkedIn profiles every day for open roles.
𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲.

Here's why:

Your LinkedIn activity says you're consuming content, not creating value.

I check profiles daily for roles I'm filling. If I can't tell what you bring to the table and what problem you solve in 10 seconds, I'm moving to the next candidate who made it obvious.

Your network can't help you if they don't know what you need.

Thursday afternoon is your forcing function.

What actually moved forward this week?

What's still stuck?

The ones who win do weekly audits. They kill what's not working before it becomes next week's habit.

You have 24 hours to course correct.

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗲. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗶𝘁.

Pick your three best applications from this week. Read them like you're the hiring manager. Find the one thing that's off.

Fix that one thing.

Then start next week different.

Volume without adjustment is just repeated failure at scale.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲.  𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲.

Discipline moves searches forward. Waiting for motivation keeps you stuck.

𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
If you're dreading Monday, here's the 15-minute Sunday routine that replaces anxiety with 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡:

1. Pick your top 3 target companies for the week. 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻.

2. Identify one decision you've been avoiding. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝘁. 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄.

3. Review last week's applications. What got responses? 𝗗𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁.

4. Draft one outreach message to someone at a target company. 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝟵𝗮𝗺.

5. 𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼-𝗱𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱.

No journaling. No affirmations. No vision boards.

𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡.

This doesn't create comfort. It creates action.

𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝘂𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁.

CISO/vCISO | IT/IS Leadership | Mentor | MSc., CCSP, CISM, CRISC, CMMC RP

I help organizations make confident, risk‑informed decisions by turning complex cybersecurity and regulatory challenges into clear, actionable strategy. For 20+ years, I’ve advised mid‑market and Fortune 50 companies across automotive, healthcare, financial services, energy, and higher education - leading security programs, maturing governance, and guiding executives through high‑stakes decisions.

As a Field CISO and vCISO, I build and lead security programs, drive regulatory alignment (ISO 27001, NIST CSF, CMMC, TISAX, HIPAA, PCI), and strengthen resilience through practical, business‑aligned risk management. I’ve scaled consulting practices, supported sales and client growth as a senior SME, and led organizations through major incidents, including enterprise‑wide ransomware events.

I’m also an educator and industry voice; adjunct professor, APMG-accredited ISACA instructor, and frequent podcast and webinar guest on cybersecurity, privacy, AI, and connected‑vehicle risk.

Whether advising as a vCISO or stepping into a full‑time executive role, I focus on clarity, credibility, and measurable outcomes. If your organization needs strategic leadership, program maturity, or a trusted partner who can bridge technical depth with executive decision‑making, I’m always open to a conversation.

Mike Pedrick, CISSP

Shocked.  SHOCKED, I say.

I'm guessing the fine folks at Mountain View, CA didn't read the fine print.  "By using our surveillance systems, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy..."  🤨 

Hat tip to Suzanne Marie Smalley.

Monique Priestley ▪️Merry M.Heidi Saas Jeff Jockisch Justin Pollard

Mike Pedrick

CISO/vCISO & GRC Leader | Strategic Risk Management | Driving Cross-Industry Program Excellence

Digital privacy and cybersecurity reporter

Police in Mountain View, California on Monday turned off 30 Flock automated license plate reader (ALPR) cameras after learning that the company had allowed outside agencies to search the city’s database without its permission.

The cameras will stay off until the Mountain View City Council can discuss how to handle the matter at a February 24 meeting, Police Chief Mike Canfield said in a letter to the community.

Even with the decision on whether to reactivate the cameras apparently resting with the City Council, Canfield made clear in his letter that he opposes reactivating the cameras. 

“While the Flock Safety pilot program demonstrated clear value in enhancing our ability to protect our community and help us solve crimes, I personally no longer have confidence in this particular vendor,” Canfield’s letter said. “Like many of you, I was deeply disappointed to learn that Flock Safety did not meet the city's requirements regarding our data access control and transparency.”

The police department reportedly learned that the out-of-state agencies and other police departments in California were searching its database following a public records request by a local news outlet.

As they prepared to answer the public records request, Mountain View Police learned that Flock had turned on a statewide lookup tool without their permission, a feature which allowed hundreds of California police departments to search their data for 17 months. 

Canfield also said the state learned that out-of-state agencies had illegal access to one Mountain View camera from August through November 2024.

California law bars police departments from sharing ALPR data with out-of-state agencies and bans use of the data for immigration purposes. 

Mountain View Police reportedly have an even stricter policy in place, only allowing other California agencies to search its database if they receive prior authorization by agreeing to abide by Mountain View data policies.

A spokesperson for Flock Safety said the company is “working through Mountain View's specific questions and concerns directly with the city, and will continue to engage with our partners in the police department and city government to resolve these issues.” 

“We look forward to resuming our successful partnership following the upcoming Council meeting,” she added.

Mountain View’s contract with Flock Safety began in May 2024.

Canfield apologized to residents for giving them false assurances that the cameras’ data would be shared on a limited basis, saying that he was given bad information by Flock.

“The existence of access by out of state agencies, without the City's awareness, that circumvented the protections we purposefully built and believed were in place is frankly unacceptable to me and to the dedicated people of the MVPD,” Canfield said in his letter. 

CLICK FOR MORE

Open article: California city turns off Flock cameras after company shared data without authorization by therecord.media

California city turns off Flock cameras after company shared data without authorization

The 'contract' the business world wants to make with its consumer base is that we'll tolerate the onslaught of unsolicited advertising, marketing, and nakedly aggressive attention entitlement in exchange for their magnanimous use of the 'unsubscribe' feature.  If we just tell them we don't want it, they'll stop.

One of two things happens - they don't stop at all, or will begin anew as soon as your contact information shows up when a fresh shipment of 'qualified leads' lands in the inbox of some BDR who was pushing cellphones at a mall kiosk a week prior.

No means no in nearly any other social context.

I'm *forcing* myself to protect this person's identity for this post out of courtesy.

...The really unfortunate thing is that it's the data broker who sold them my number that I have a real issue with.

Are you a Car Person?  If so, I am sorry - you're never going to get that retirement nest egg completed.  You'll die broke.

Broke, but with a nice car or two.

Before YouTube and I broke up, I enjoyed Throttle House - a group of Canadians (one adopted) who are unabashed, dyed-in-the-wool car nuts like me.  The production value is off-the-charts good and their pedigree in the industry is, frankly, impressive.  While they've rubbed elbows with the cats who've been on the BBC, Discovery channel, and the like, they still do the content they want.  Sometimes that includes a Listicle shot in the basement.  I love that.

They recently posted about 10 modern vehicle features they hate.  I can relate to this because, well, I'm a middle-aged man who loves to complain about things I can't change.

All of the things I, too, dislike in modern cars are on this list, including artificial engine sounds pumped into the cabin via the speakers, piano black interior trim that becomes a dust and germ orgy in minutes, subscription-based features, and the auto start/stop function.

I hope the engineer who told the bean counters THAT was possible got an atomic wedgie out in the hallway.  Waistband up over the head.

But as I think about this list and my own experiences with modern vehicles, including my feelings around forced surveillance and social engineering by way of design, I can't help but feel like the industry lost its way.  I like to think of the heyday of automotive enthusiasm where manufacturers were battling to find just the right combination of utility, design, and emotional response to make everyone - from the suburbanite Dad to the newly-minted executive to the debutante socialite - want the same product in their garage or driveway.  It's a romantic notion, sure, and it's probably tainted by memberberries and rose-colored glasses.

But it sure isn't what we have today.  Today feels like the collective automotive industry is producing what they have to to satisfy regulators, investors, and other shadowy figures and the consumer is just stuck with what's available.

I have been fortunate - or foolish - enough over the years to have owned many of the cars which I saw and knew deep inside I *had to have* or I might quite literally die.

As time has gone by, though, there's been fewer and fewer of those.  Nothing on the immediate horizon stirs my soul the same way.

IMO, there's no real, heartfelt, straight-from-the-soul passion coming from the manufacturers, either.  Am I wrong?

Check out the referenced Throttle House vid here: https://lnkd.in/guxFr2E7

"So, like, what do we need to do to get ChatGPT to do all that?"

*️⃣ Incident Response
*️⃣ Business Continuity
*️⃣ Disaster Recovery
*️⃣ Asset Management
*️⃣ GRC

🤨

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