Jeff Man Joins Secure Ideas to Build PCI Practice and Expand Conference Presence

Former NSA cryptanalyst, founding NSA red team member, and longtime PCI authority joins the Professionally Evil team

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Secure Ideas, the CREST-accredited penetration testing and information security consulting firm known as “Professionally Evil,” announced that veteran information security practitioner Jeff Man has joined the company. Jeff will build out the firm’s Payment Card Industry (PCI) practice and represent Secure Ideas as a speaker and keynoter at security conferences across the country.

Jeff Man is one of the most recognizable figures in the information security community. He brings a career spanning five decades on the front lines of cryptography, risk management, vulnerability analysis, compliance assessment, forensic analysis, and penetration testing. A certified NSA cryptanalyst, he held research, management, and product development roles at the National Security Agency and the Department of Defense, and was a founding member of the NSA’s first penetration testing red team.

For more than twenty years, Jeff has worked as a penetration tester, security architect, consultant, Qualified Security Assessor (QSA), and PCI subject matter expert, advising many of the country’s best-known organizations on Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) assessments and requirements. Across the community he is known as the “PCI Guy” and the “InfoSec Curmudgeon.”

Beyond his consulting work, Jeff is a longtime co-host of Paul’s Security Weekly, former host of Security & Compliance Weekly, and a four-time contributor to the Tribe of Hackers series. He is a frequent international speaker and keynoter, and he serves on industry advisory groups supporting cybersecurity education.

At Secure Ideas, Jeff will lead the development of the firm’s PCI practice, branded Professionally Evil Practically Secure, bringing structured QSA and PCI DSS advisory depth to a team recognized for hands-on penetration testing and information security consulting. He will also serve as a public voice for the firm, carrying the Professionally Evil approach of direct, practitioner-first guidance to conference stages nationwide.

Jeff shared the news himself during his session at RVAsec 15 in Richmond, Virginia, where members of Secure Ideas welcomed him to the team.

“After 16 years at the helm of Secure Ideas, I have learned that growth only means something when you do it with the right people. Bringing Jeff Man on board to lead our PCI practice is exactly that kind of move. He is a powerhouse in this space, and we could not be more excited about what this means for our clients,” said Kevin Tackett, CEO of Secure Ideas.

“Secure Ideas has a reputation for doing high-quality work for its clients; meeting them where they are in their security maturity journey, and that’s been my approach to PCI Security Assessments for over twenty years. I’m looking forward to building a PCI Assessment practice here and helping our clients not only meet their payment card industry requirements but to leverage the PCI DSS as a framework for all of their information and cybersecurity concerns,” said Jeff Man, Executive Director for PCI at Secure Ideas.

About Secure Ideas

Secure Ideas is a boutique, CREST-accredited penetration testing and information security consulting firm based in Jacksonville, Florida. Operating under the Professionally Evil brand, the firm helps organizations understand and test the security of their applications, networks, and systems through penetration testing, security assessments, and consulting and advisory services. Secure Ideas is built on practitioner credibility and a direct, no-nonsense approach that gives clients a clear-eyed view of real-world risk. Learn more at secureideas.com.