About
One person, direct access, and a security background that shapes how everything gets built.
Daniel Avila
Founder, BitForge Lab. CISSP.
I hold the CISSP and have spent more than ten years in IT, network engineering, and security consulting, most of it with organizations that could not afford to get security wrong. Part of that time was in operational technology security consulting, which taught me to be careful around systems other people depend on.
BitForge Lab is a solo practice. When you call, you get me. I scope the work, I do the work, and I write the report. There is no account manager and no hand-off to someone who was not on the call.
I started BitForge Lab because small regulated businesses were getting one of two things: an IT provider who keeps the lights on but does not report on exposure, or a security vendor sized for companies fifty times larger. The gap in the middle is where I work: monthly visibility, evidence for the insurer, and automation built by someone who thinks about credentials before convenience.
I am familiar with the frameworks small businesses get asked about, including the questionnaires insurers use, the CIS Controls, the NIST Cybersecurity Framework, HIPAA, and the SOC 2 expectations that larger customers put on their vendors. I map evidence to them; I do not sell certifications.
How I work
Four rules that apply to every engagement, whether it is a scan, a readiness pack, or an automation build.
Assess before building
Every engagement starts with an assessment or a baseline, so the plan is based on what is actually there rather than on assumptions.
Least privilege
Every credential, agent, and automation gets the minimum access it needs, and I document why it needs that much.
Written scope and authorization before any scanning
Nothing runs against your systems until the owner has authorized it in writing and we have agreed exactly what is in scope.
Plain-language reporting
You get a report that says what I found, what it means for you, what was fixed, and what I could not verify. No severity colors without an explanation.
Want to talk it through?
A 30-minute call is enough to tell whether I can help and what the next step would be.