From the B-52 Flight Line to Security Architecture: Why Cyberneza Exists

Most compliance work today starts inside a software tool. Ours started on an Air Force flight line.

Where it started

Cyberneza founder Larry Downard began on the B-52 flight line in Air Force electronic warfare, then moved to B-2 stealth bomber flight test and support for U-2 missions in South Korea. In radar simulation, which protected our aircraft from enemy missile systems, he became the organization's computer manager and cryptography manager. That led to his first system security plan for a secure government network.

Into security

As a computer system security officer (CSSO) at Battelle Memorial Institute, under NISPOM Chapter 8 and Defense Security Service oversight, Larry earned some of the highest security inspection ratings of his career. He then served as a security liaison under the Defense Information Systems Agency.

Missile defense and the DoD's first SaaS

At Boeing, under the Missile Defense Agency, he worked security on the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense program and ran security audits at missile defense sites across the country. He was then operations manager and information assurance lead for the Department of Defense's first software-as-a-service application, and later managed subcontractors for the DoD collaboration service that grew past 1 million users.

Enterprise security architecture

He carried that defense discipline into the commercial world as a security architect at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, on F-35 simulator systems at Lockheed Martin in Orlando, and as US lead endpoint security engineer for 50,000+ endpoints at National Grid.

What we do today

• Federal and defense compliance: CMMC, NIST 800-171 and NIST 800-53, including assessments, SSPs, POA&Ms, SPRS scoring and assessment readiness- Commercial trust: SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA and PCI DSS, from scoping through audit- AI governance and security: ISO 42001, NIST AI RMF and the EU AI Act- Architecture and ongoing support: security architecture, Zero Trust design, fractional CISO leadership and ongoing advisoryWe work with a partner network of audit firms and C3PAOs, compliance automation platforms, secure enclave providers and 24/7 managed detection and response. ## Credentials CISSP, CRISC, CCSK, CCZT and CMMC Registered Practitioner. Cyberneza is an SBA-certified veteran-owned small business, SAM.gov registered (UEI T97XZHE7C5D5, CAGE 1AVJ5) and a BBB Accredited Business, available for federal contracts, subcontracting and teaming. ## Orlando roots, nationwide reach We're based in Orlando and work with clients across the US. Tell us the requirement, the deadline and the blocker, and we'll reply within one business day: https://cyberneza.com/contact