Author: Rick Mellendick

rick-mellendick-headshotRick Mellendick is the Chief Security Officer for PI Achievers, a process improvement and security firm in Baltimore, Maryland, and the co-developer of the Cyber Resiliency Assessment Methodology (CRAM). Rick is also the Chief Security Officer for Forward Edge AI. Rick specializes in designing and assessing networks using offensive techniques to assist in securing client networks. He has extensive experience in computer network operations including developing proof of concept attacks and performing demonstrations for government and corporate clients. Rick is also a subject matter expert in computer network operations, Radio Frequency (RF) offense and defense, and building large scale security programs. Rick has completed over 500 vulnerability assessments and penetrations tests, specializing in the radio frequency spectrum. Mr. Mellendick’s certifications include CISSP, ISSEP, OPSA, CEH, IEM, IAM, MCP, Certified DoD System Administrator, and DoD Linux Security Professional.piachievers - logo

From the Fall 2021 Issue

Digital Convenience or Big Brother? Cool Tech Might Be Our Downfall

Author(s):

Rick Mellendick, Chief Security Officer, Process Improvement Achievers, LLC

Digital Convenience of Big Brother

In the last few years, there has been a strong increase in Radio Frequency (RF) devices through RF Red Team engagements and RF penetration testing and security vulnerability assessments. This uptick is not just in the corporate offices but outside of the offices as well. There also has been a notice of growth in non-standard … Read more

From the Spring 2021 Issue

Radio Frequency Operations and Training From a Virtually Different Point of View

Author(s):

Rick Mellendick, Chief Security Officer, Process Improvement Achievers, LLC

radio-frequency-operations-and-training

Radio Frequency (RF) security, sometimes called wireless security, is much more than just WiFi. Over the past few years, there has been rapid growth in WiFi training courses, but very few that specialize in RF defensive and operational preparation. The usable RF spectrum for data exfiltration is typically from around 10 MHz though near 12Ghz, … Read more

From the Winter 2018 Issue

Next Generation Security Assessment Methodology

Author(s):

Rick Mellendick, Chief Security Officer, Process Improvement Achievers, LLC

Next Generation Security

Why Organizations Need to Be More Than Just Compliant Enterprises across the industry-government-academia spectrum are struggling to balance the goals of improved security and regulatory compliance. Unfortunately, the two are not always compatible or aligned. Many organizations lack board level guidance when it comes to managing cybersecurity risk. As a result, many organizations expend resources … Read more

From the Fall 2014 Issue

Corporate America is Being Attacked and the Entry Vector May Be Surprising

Author(s):

Rick Mellendick, Chief Security Officer, Process Improvement Achievers, LLC

“Corporate America is under attack” has become a more regular headline with media outlets. Such reports often describe the attack and loss, but few explain why it happened and even fewer take the time to describe how not to let it happen. Even organizations focus on the attack, loss, and why the attack happened when … Read more

From the Summer 2014 Issue

Stalking Prey: An RF Hacker’s Perspective

Author(s):

Rick Mellendick, Chief Security Officer, Process Improvement Achievers, LLC

Nearly everyone has an RF signature, and it is becoming as common as your fingerprint. This signature is the culmination of device and device usage such as: Your cell phone’s frequency Names of the networks you connect to with yourdevices Bluetooth devices and the connections to andfrom them Your device or devices (e.g., laptop, phone, … Read more

From the Spring 2014 Issue

Wireless Security: Not just 802.11 Anymore

Author(s):

Rick Mellendick, Chief Security Officer, Process Improvement Achievers, LLC

With the increase of organizations establishing wireless networks, including wireless guest networks, as well as creating Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) environments, organizations have increased their susceptibility to newer types of threats. Organizations are struggling to balance convenience with security and too often, convenience is being implemented proactively while security is being implemented reactively. When … Read more