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Michael Garner is a dynamic and experienced Senior IS Executive with over 15 years of expertise in identifying and mitigating threats to information asset integrity, availability, and confidentiality. They possess a multifaceted IT background, having served in central roles cultivating a culture of information security throughout IT organizations and enterprises.
Michael has a proven track record of executing strategic, comprehensive enterprise IS and IT risk management programs that ensure the security of organizational information and data. They have a solid infrastructure background and valuable knowledge gained through IT management experience and US military service.
Notable career highlights include developing and deploying Enterprise SIEM LogRhythm throughout all Wendy's corporate servers, stores, and franchisees, as well as bringing corporate systems into PCI-DSS compliance and maturing security controls. They have also been recognized for their sharp analysis skills, being the first analyst to identify an NSA attempt to penetrate the DoD network during a blind penetration test.
Furthermore, Michael has demonstrated their ability to streamline operations, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies. For example, they have reduced open tickets by 90% and slashed ticket open times by 50% while managing a country-wide helpdesk in Afghanistan. They have also saved thousands of hours for helpdesk operations by leveraging existing security software to create smart responses.
Michael holds several certifications, including Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Ethical Hacker (CeH), Security+, and Microsoft Certified Professional. They have a Master's degree in Cybersecurity from Brown University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance from DeVry University.
Currently, Michael holds the position of Director of Cybersecurity at Renovo Financial in Chicago, Illinois. They oversee the cybersecurity program for the company, ensuring the integrity and protection of sensitive information. They have also held positions at Pinnacle Elite, Amazon, Community Health Systems, and Cognizant, where they have contributed to significant achievements and advancements in information security.
More about this expert
- Full name
- Michael Garner
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Title
- Director of Cybersecurity
- Company
- Renovo Financial (since 2023)
- Industry
- Financial Services
- LinkedIn profile
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-garner-cissp-a4310320/
- LinkedIn Connections
- 4132
- Summary
- Dynamic Senior IS executive offering 15+ years of experience identifying threats to information asset integrity, availability, and confidentiality. Balance response to and containment of information security-related incidents and execute strategic, comprehensive enterprise IS and IT risk management programs that ensure the security of the organizations information and data. Multifaceted IT background serving in central roles cultivating a culture of information security throughout IT organization and enterprise. Skilled in the creation, deployment, and management of law enforcement / counterintelligence e-data request processes. Familiar with compliance standards including HIPAA, Sarbanes Oxley Act, FISMA, and PCI-DSS. Solid infrastructure background and knowledge gained through IT management experience and US military service. CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Developed and deployed Enterprise SIEM LogRhythm throughout all Wendys corporate servers, stores, and franchisees under a corporate umbrella. Brought corporate systems into PCI-DSS compliance and matured security controls. Created processes to run 24x7 and maintain chain of custody for DoD investigations worldwide. Recognized as the first analyst to identify an NSA attempt to penetrate the DoD network during a blind penetration test. Reduced open tickets by 90% and slashed ticket open times by 50% while managing country-wide helpdesk in Afghanistan. Saved 5,000 hours annually for helpdesk operations by leveraging existing security software to create smart responses. Oversaw replacement of EDR, AV and MDR for Enterprise that saved 700K annually CERTIFICATIONS: Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) | Certified Ethical Hacker (CeH) | Security+ | Microsoft Certified Professional | CISSP
- Skills
- Security Security Clearance
Education
- Brown University
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Master's degree
Attended in 2018 - 2020
Field of study: Cybersecurity - DeVry University
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Bachelor of Science (B.S.)
Attended in 2016
Field of study: Computer and Information Systems Security/Information Assurance
Positions
- Renovo Financial
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Director of Cybersecurity
Jun 2023 - Present
Reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, I oversee the cybersecurity program for Renovo Financial.
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Pinnacle Elite
Remote
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Financial Consultant
Mar 2023 - Present
- Amazon
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Senior Cloud Security Consultant
Dec 2021 - Jun 2023
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Community Health Systems
Greater Nashville Area, TN
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Director of Information Security
Mar 2019 - Aug 2021
Oversee Cybersecurity Operations for 96 facilities from a reactive to a proactive state and empower businesses acceleration and transformation of technology in a digital age. Utilize next-generation digital workplace technologies and business solutions powered. Optimize business value, security, and efficiency. Manage $18M budget, $9M allocated for employees and projects. Established a forensics lab for malware analysis. Collaborated with Compliance and Internal Audit to create Risk Register tool and establish a Risk Committee. Established plan to integrate the Mitre ATT&CK Framework into future state of operations.
• Significantly reduced critical patches and from five years behind schedule to only behind sixty days.
• Reduced overall data footprint for sensitive information by identifying 180M+ duplicate and unencrypted files of data (PHI, PII, and PCI) by driving data governance programs to optimize the company’s data footprint.
• Shrank outsourcing costs by 76% by insourcing digital forensics.
• Saved $400K through allocations and reduced licensing costs across 99 facilities.
Direct and supervise 40 employees on four separate teams:
1. Security Operations Center and Incident Handling, increased maturity scale from .5 in maturity scale to 3.0., and reduced Incident Ticket times from 21 days to 4 days
2. Threat and Vulnerability Management, track & mitigate risks, manage attack and penetration test findings, resolve issues mapped to the CIS 20 framework. Track and measure patch levels, coordinate scanning, and up-to-date patches are.
3. Security Engineering and Project Management Team, executing multiple simultaneous projects, including an EDR proof of concept project, data loss prevention project, anti-virus project, Google Cloud migration projects, and SEIM replacement concept project.
4. Security Support Team, reduce average daily helpdesk tickets 70%, from 800 in the queue to 240.
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Cognizant
Tampa, Florida
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Sr. Manager Information Security
Dec 2017 - Mar 2019
Managed and supervised 14 employees (grew from 10 employees) and oversaw $2.5M project budget for security operations center (SOC) for a Fortune 50 entity in support of SIEM application SPLUNK.
• Reduced task requirements by 20% by collaborating with team to prioritize SIEM whitelisting and tuning.
• Maintained extremely low turnover rate (one employee in two years) by creating dependable talent pipeline and competitive salaries to retain talent while established business relationship with security training company to onboard effective junior analysts.