Gailey Solutions Origin Story - The Why
The year was 1980.
I was a successful sales Rep in the High Tech industry in Boston in my mid 20s. A group of friends were living large in the social scene in Boston. We pooled our resources and rented a beach house on the Cap in the summer, a ski house in Vermont in the winter and Celtics tickets in the Larry Bird era.
A member of Boston's Irish Mob (Whitey Bolger ties.) noticed us in the bars and decided to target me. My pocket was picked. My condo was broken into. Valuables stolen along with 100 blank checks. (You get 200 printed, take 25. Put them in your checkbook. The rest go in a drawer. There you have it.)
The Gang had a Massachusetts drivers' license making machine. Printed out 4 picture Ids. Each got 25 checks, a credit card, Visa, MasterCard, Amex and Corporate AmEx. That weekend they went on a spending spree throughout New England, and spent over $100,000 in 1980 dollars. That is about $500K in todays' dollars.
3 got caught. Federal crimes because it was out of state. Inter-State crimes.
I had well over 100 irate vendors calling me and screaming at me. Along with several life threatening calls from the mob trying to intimidate me. "I am going to walk up to you in a bar and blow you away. You will never know what hit you." As it was in Massachusetts with strict gun Laws, the FBI offered to train me and allowed me to concealed carry.
There is more to the story, but I am going to stop there. Few knew of the situation I was in.
So why did this drive me to Cyber Security? Think about it. The theft happened quickly. It took a few days, before I knew it happened. I had Identity theft before identity theft was a thing. Physical theft, extortion, bank fraud, credit card theft, reputational damage, social damage (yah, my friends, who know, were a little nervous around me.) Remarkably, it all worked itself out. With the help of experts. (The Boston Police, the FBI, my Lawyer and my Banker.)
Fast forward 45 years. The tools and techniques are much more sophisticated. As are the perpetrators. The stakes are much higher. IP theft, Ransomware, Phishing, the viral nature of Social Media. Everything could be ruined with a simple click of the mouse, a wire transfer and or a post on Social Media.
So, I/We help people and companies reduce their risks and exposures. We provide Risk Assessments and Vulnerability Assessments. Penetration Testing to advise how we got in, and what they should do to prevent bad people from doing it. We help build a Program with the various Projects that need to be performed along with the appropriate budgeting, planning and management necessary to execute and meet Certifications and Compliance mandates. Our Partner MSP community provides the needed Services. I have committed my life and my profession (45 years in IT / Data Management and Cyber Security.) to doing the right thing.