Dan DeFay

Dan DeFay serves as Chief Information Security Officer at NorthStar Technology Group. He joined NorthStar in 2023 following the acquisition of SmartFirm IT, the managed IT and cybersecurity firm he founded and led. His deep expertise in security operations and compliance consulting has strengthened NorthStar's security practice across all four of its regulated-industry verticals.

Dan is the co-author of the Amazon best-seller Cyber Attack Prevention: Why Your IT Department Must Partner with a Third-Party Cyber Security Firm, co-written with Ken Satkunam. The book reflects Dan's hands-on experience helping organizations across healthcare, defense, financial services, and legal industries defend against modern cyber threats.

As CISO, Dan leads NorthStar's security engineering, incident response, and compliance programs, including HIPAA, CMMC, and FTC Safeguards Rule engagements. His practitioner background at SmartFirm IT gives him a ground-level perspective that informs how NorthStar designs and delivers security programs for its clients.