Bio
Michael A. Davis has earned a reputation as one of the nation's leading authorities on information technology. The list of organizations that rely on his council includes AT&T, Sears, Exelon, the US Department of Defense, and Discover Financial.
Mr. Davis is President of External IT, a national managed IT services, cloud services, and IT security provider that focuses on unifying the business IT experience.
In 2005, Mr. Davis founded Savid Technologies, an IT security consulting firm. He led Savid to be the 23rd fastest growing company in Chicago as measured by Inc. magazine, and by 2010, Savid was ranked 611 on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America.
As an entrepreneur he was voted one of the "Top 25 under 25" by BusinessWeek, semi-finalist of the Ernst and Young “Entrepreneur of the Year” award, and a “Web 2.0 Wonderkid” for his online marketing capabilities. In 2012, Savid was acquired by External IT.
Mr. Davis is an author of the No. 1 computer security book in the world, Hacking Exposed, as well as Hacking Exposed: Malware and Rootkits, and he is a frequent contributor to industry and business publications including InformationWeek and The Wall Street Journal.
Much of his time is spent lecturing, and conferences and conventions that know him well include Black Hat, Interop, SuperStrategies, and InfoSecWorld.
Research: 2013 Strategic Security Survey
June 10, 2013
Our 1,029 respondents are getting wise on awareness, with just 13% saying they're more vulnerable than last year. Still, 73% see mobility as a threat, and 75% admit they may be ignorant of a breach.
2013 Strategic Security Survey
May 27, 2013
Our 1,029 respondents are getting wise on awareness, with just 13% saying they're more vulnerable than last year. Still, 73% see mobility as a threat, and 75% admit they may be ignorant of a breach.
Follow Feds To The Cloud
April 29, 2013
Uncle Sam is a leader in the secure use of cloud services. Here’s what FedRAMP and FISMA can teach you.
Research: 2012 Security Staffing Survey
April 17, 2013
Hiring the wrong security pro can be a costly mistake that could set your company back years in terms of risk reduction. But finding the right person isn't easy: 39% of respondents to our staffing survey at security-focused companies say people with the required skill sets may be hard to find, and 18% say salary demands may exceed their budgets. But don't despair. We'll walk you through the steps you need to take to find the best security professionals.
Strategy: Cybersecurity on the Offense
February 07, 2013
Can you -- and should you -- strike back at attackers? It's a complex question with deep ethical, legal and practical considerations. While governments have drawn lines in the sand, for the private sector it's still early days in the offensive cyber security era. You can, however, be proactive. Here's how.
Strategy: How to Pick Endpoint Protection
February 05, 2013
When it comes to protecting PCs and laptops, IT puts too much emphasis on malware detection. You'll get better results by focusing on performance, management and -- most importantly -- how users and the security software interact. This report tells you how to evaluate endpoint security software based on what really matters.
RIM BES 10: Too Little, Too Late
January 28, 2013
What does BlackBerry Enterprise Service 10 really bring to the table in terms of new enterprise management, security and true enterprise mobility?
4 Steps For Proactive Cybersecurity
January 21, 2013
Tired of having malware punch you in the face? The time's not right to hit back, but here are moves to make now.
Strategy: 5 Keys to Painless Encryption
December 18, 2012
Even as mobility and cloud take off, too many companies still leave data in the clear, spooked by operational and performance concerns. Yes, key management is still a problem. But here are five ways to use encryption without breaking your existing infrastructure, plus a look ahead at the next big thing: identity-based encryption.
Review & Analysis: 3 MDM Suites
December 14, 2012
Nine in 10 IT pros think mobile will increase in importance, but fewer than half have deployed or are in the process of deploying mobile device management systems. Our review of suites from Good Technology, Symantec and Research In Motion, plus analysis of the most important MDM capabilities, reveals why some companies are holding off.
5 Rules For (Almost) Painless Encryption
December 10, 2012
Even as mobility and cloud take off, too many companies still leave data in the clear, spooked by operational concerns. Yes, key management remains a problem. But can you really afford not to encrypt?
BYOD: Why Mobile Device Management Isn't Enough
November 28, 2012
Here's what to look for in MDM software and what limitations IT still faces in letting employees use personal devices for work.
Good Technology MDM Review: Tight Grip On Data
November 28, 2012
Good's on its way to data-centric security.
Symantec MDM Review: Familiarity A Selling Point
November 28, 2012
Users of Symantec security software will find similar interface.
RIM MDM Review: Beyond BES, Not There Yet
November 28, 2012
It's not an easy option unless you're a heavy-duty BlackBerry shop.
Research: 2012 Application Security Survey
November 15, 2012
Tried-and-true methods like defense in depth can provide breathing room while you get a secure SDLC in place -- a job still facing 56% of our 475 respondents. And they'd better get moving, because 51% of those with secure SDLC programs on their radar have developed and/or assumed responsibility for securing 11 or more Web apps.
Windows 8 Survival Guide: OS and Browser Security
November 13, 2012
Windows 8 continues the work that Microsoft undertook with Windows 7: to build a more secure operating system and browser from the ground up. The new OS makes significant changes around application controls to limit the fallout of exploits. It also offers improved password management tools, a beefed-up anti-malware package and more encryption options.
Windows 8: A Win For Enterprise Security
October 26, 2012
Windows 8 makes securing enterprise PCs and tablets easier--and shows that the future of enterprise Windows security is proper control of applications.
Research: Cloud Security: Verify, Don't Trust
October 17, 2012
Our 2012 Cloud Security and Risk Survey finds a lot of concern about cloud security: 48% of respondents who won't use the cloud cite security reasons for lack of adoption. Even those who use or are considering the cloud put security at the top of their list of concerns, ahead of performance and vendor lock-in. And yet, 40% of respondents using, planning to use or considering using public cloud services don't have a security assessment process in place. That needs to change. Here's how.
Want Better Security? Get Windows 8
September 24, 2012
The new OS and Internet Explorer 10 protect applications and limit the fallout of exploits.
Don't Trust Cloud Security
August 20, 2012
Companies using cloud services need to verify, not trust, that a provider's controls will actually protect their data.
Research: 2012 Strategic Security Survey
July 03, 2012
When it comes to security and risk management, it’s tempting to try to address everything. A more effective approach: Focus on the most likely threats. Our survey results show security and IT pros are concentrating on risks over which they have some control, such as implementing better access control, vetting cloud providers, safeguarding mobile devices, educating users and building more secure software. See what else should be on your list.
Strategy: Why NoSQL Equals NoSecurity
May 11, 2012
If it seems security is an afterthought at best in the big data ecosystem, you're right. And that's unfortunate, because attackers go where the data is. Our security surveys consistently show that even conventional structured databases aren't protected as well as they should be. And now we’re piling up unstructured data. In this report we'll discuss best practices and must-do hardening tips to reduce the chances that your NoSQL database will be breached.
Fundamentals: The Mobile Payment Frontier
May 11, 2012
Retailers' options for accepting in-store payments via smartphones are all over the map, including devices that use near field communication technology, custom-built mobile apps and fledgling payment processors. One critical factor--consumer adoption--is still an unknown. We'll explain what companies need to know about emerging options and how they should prepare for a multifaceted payment environment.
Strategic Security Survey: ID The Right Threats
May 09, 2012
Identify the right threats for effective risk management.