Why We Started sndnss: Breaking Free from the Cybersecurity Consulting Trap

The Problem We Keep Seeing

After years of working in cybersecurity, we've watched the same frustrating pattern repeat itself across organizations of every size. Companies start with good intentions—they want to secure their systems, meet compliance requirements, maybe get that certification their clients are asking for. But here's what actually happens: they get overwhelmed by the maze of standards and frameworks, panic about doing something wrong, and end up hiring expensive consultants who promise to sort everything out.

Don't get me wrong—there are times when external expertise makes perfect sense. But we've seen too many organizations become completely dependent on consultants for decisions they should be making themselves. The worst part? When those contracts end, the knowledge walks out the door with the consultants.

How We Got Here (And Why It's Getting Worse)

Technology Moves Fast, Threats Move Faster

Look, the cybersecurity landscape has become genuinely complex. Cloud services, remote work, IoT devices everywhere—each innovation creates new attack vectors that didn't exist five years ago. Criminals aren't sitting still either; they're using AI, automating attacks, and finding creative ways to exploit our increasingly connected world.

Standards Overload

Meanwhile, regulatory bodies have responded by creating more and more standards. ISO 27001, NIST CSF, GDPR, PCI DSS, and that's just the beginning. If you're in healthcare, add HIPAA. Finance? There's a whole other set of rules. Each framework has its own language, priorities, and interpretation challenges. It's no wonder organizations feel like they need a translator.

Why Everyone Calls the Consultants

When Standards Feel Overwhelming

Here's the reality: most organizations don't have dedicated security teams with deep compliance expertise. The requirements are dense, legally complex, and they change constantly. What looks straightforward on paper often involves coordinating across IT, HR, legal, and procurement departments. Small wonder that many companies throw up their hands and call in the experts.

The Skills Gap Is Real

The cybersecurity talent shortage isn't just hype—it's a genuine crisis. Every survey confirms it: there aren't enough qualified professionals to fill the open positions. So organizations naturally turn to consultants who can parachute in with ready-made expertise and battle-tested frameworks.

The Consultant Dilemma: Good Help, Hidden Costs

What Consultants Do Well

Let's be fair—external consultants serve a real purpose. They bring specialized knowledge, cross-industry experience, and the ability to cut through complexity quickly. When you're facing an audit next month or need to implement a framework you've never heard of, these folks can be lifesavers. They help companies:

• Make sense of requirements and figure out what actually matters for your business
• Assess where you stand with gap analyses and current-state reviews
• Build the documentation that auditors want to see
• Implement controls that meet regulatory demands
• Handle crisis situations when incidents occur

The Hidden Downsides Nobody Talks About

But here's what we've learned from watching hundreds of these engagements: consultant dependency creates its own problems. Some are obvious, others sneak up on you:

• They don't really know your business: Even the best consultants are outsiders. They might understand cybersecurity inside and out, but they don't understand your company culture, your operational constraints, or your strategic priorities. This leads to recommendations that look great on paper but don't work in reality.
• Generic solutions for unique problems: Consultants have their favorite frameworks and tools. Sometimes that means you get a one-size-fits-all approach when you need something tailored to your specific situation.
• Knowledge doesn't stick around: When consultants leave, they take their understanding of your environment with them. Six months later, you're back to square one when something changes or breaks.
• The learning opportunity gets missed: Your internal team watches from the sidelines instead of developing their own expertise. You stay dependent instead of building capability.
• Costs add up fast: Daily rates for good security consultants aren't cheap. Projects that should take weeks stretch into months. Before you know it, you've spent more on advice than you would have on actual security improvements.
• You lose control: When you rely heavily on one consulting firm, switching becomes painful. Their tools, their processes, their way of doing things becomes your way—whether it's optimal or not.

Our Approach: Building Bridges, Not Dependencies

Tools That Actually Make Sense

We started sndnss because we got tired of seeing the same cycle repeat: companies hire consultants, spend a fortune, get some documentation, and then feel lost again six months later. Our approach is different. Instead of doing everything for you, we build tools and frameworks that help you understand what you're dealing with.

We're actively developing structured databases and mapping systems that show how different security frameworks relate to each other. When we work with clients, we help them identify their specific compliance landscape and build customized solutions that fit their actual needs. Instead of drowning in separate documents for ISO 27001, NIST, and GDPR, you get a clear view of where they overlap and where they diverge—tailored to your industry and situation. It's like having a roadmap built specifically for your journey instead of wandering around with three different GPS systems giving conflicting directions.

Understanding the "Why" Behind the Rules

Here's something most consultants won't tell you: a lot of compliance requirements aren't arbitrary bureaucracy. They're usually trying to solve real business problems. But when you just get handed a checklist, you miss the underlying logic.

We dig into the metrics and measures that compliance frameworks actually care about. When you understand why a particular control exists, you can make intelligent decisions about how to implement it in your environment. You might even find better ways to achieve the same goal.

Smart Automation (Finally)

The real breakthrough comes when you can automate the repetitive parts of compliance management. We're actively building intelligent systems that can track compliance status, identify gaps, and suggest improvements—but here's the key: we work with each client to develop and configure these systems for their unique environment and requirements.

Think of it as developing a knowledgeable digital colleague who understands your specific business context, never gets tired of checking compliance requirements, and always knows where you stand with the frameworks that matter to you. We help you build this capability rather than just handing you a generic tool. The goal isn't to replace human judgment, but to free up your time for the strategic decisions that actually drive your business forward.

Making Security Make Sense to Leadership

One thing we learned early: security teams often struggle to communicate with executive leadership. Technical people speak in controls and vulnerabilities; business leaders think in terms of risk and opportunity. Neither side is wrong, but the translation gets lost.

Our tools are designed to bridge that communication gap. Instead of presenting a board with 47 security findings, you can show them how your security posture supports business objectives and where investments will have the biggest impact. When security becomes a business enabler instead of a cost center, everyone wins.

What Self-Sufficient Security Actually Looks Like

When organizations work with us, they start developing their own expertise instead of just borrowing ours. Here's what that transformation looks like:

• Your team actually understands the compliance requirements affecting your business
• Security decisions align with what your company is trying to accomplish
• Technology does the heavy lifting so people can focus on strategy and improvement
• Leadership gets regular, meaningful updates that help them make informed decisions

The Reality Check

Let's be honest: the cybersecurity world isn't getting simpler anytime soon. New threats emerge constantly, regulations keep evolving, and technology continues to create new attack surfaces. Some level of external expertise will always be valuable—we're not trying to eliminate consultants entirely.

But there's a huge difference between occasionally bringing in specialists for specific challenges and being completely dependent on outsiders for basic security decisions. Organizations that invest in understanding their own security landscape, backed by good tools and frameworks, can handle most situations themselves and make much smarter decisions about when external help is actually needed.

Why We Do This Work

Building truly effective cybersecurity isn't just about avoiding breaches or passing audits (though those matter). It's about creating an environment where organizations can innovate and grow without constantly worrying about security failures derailing their progress.

When companies understand their own security posture and can manage it confidently, security stops being a limiting factor and starts being a competitive advantage. That's the kind of transformation we're working toward—not just better compliance scores, but businesses that are genuinely more resilient and capable of seizing opportunities.