Strong Start has always taken privacy and security very seriously. As our organization and its programs grow, we rely on process and technologies to help us manage our administrative and day-to-day activities. This allows us to work efficiently and accurately, while keeping our overhead costs low.
With the rise in cyber security crime across the world, we saw both an immediate and proactive need to do more to protect our information and the people who rely on it. More than a year ago, our dreams were answered when our volunteer software developer, Chris Howlett, introduced us to Jeff Posluns. Jeff is an incredibly talented and sought-after information executive and leader who specializes in IT Governance, risk management, compliance and cyber security. Jeff is the CIO at Traffic Tech, and volunteers his expertise to charities and non-profit organizations in his spare time.
When our Senior Leadership Team met with Jeff in July 2019, we were instantly impressed with his expertise, advice, and his light-hearted personality. After reviewing our current processes and potential needs, Jeff kindly offered to help Strong Start establish a robust set of security policies and procedures, connect us with vetted third parties for training and monitoring, and offer on-call CIO and CISO support. With a soft spot for charities, Jeff graciously agreed to provide his on-call support as a gift-in-kind and cover the costs for any third party work on documentation and process as a charitable donation.
“As a child, my avid reading habits were well supported by my parents and grandparents, who regularly took me to book stores and gave me a time limit in the store rather than a budget for buying books. When I finished reading them all, another trip would be planned! Strong Start helps children, many of whom do not have the advantages that I had, and it is my pleasure to contribute to the education and potential of the next generation.” —Jeffrey Posluns, 2020
Fast forward more than a year later, and we continue to work regularly with Jeff. We are developing key policies and procedures including our Information Security Policy, Security Incident Management, Access Control, and Control of Records, just to name a few. Jeff used his network to connect Strong Start to two incredible security organizations: MetaCompliance and Threat Status. As a result of the introduction to MetaCompliance, our team has received award-winning cyber security training and participates in on-going learning and phishing simulations. Our emails are also generously being monitored by Threat Status through their digital risk monitoring platform, allowing us to stay on top of possible threats in order to remain protected. During our recent relocation, Jeff volunteered his time to collaborate with one of our partners, Network Telecom, to ensure we had the appropriate infrastructure, configurations, and security controls in place for our new network. He continues to support us regularly with cyber security and IT advice, planned or in response to a need.
Jeff has given a gift of immeasurable value. Through his expertise and advice, we are better prepared to address any security events or technology challenges that arise.