Michael J Shannon began his IT career when he transitioned from recording studio engineer to network technician for a major telecommunications company in the early 1990’s. He was one of the first ten people to attain the HIPAA Certified Security Specialist. Throughout his 30 years in I.T. he has worked as an employee, contractor, and consultant for several companies including Platinum Technologies, Fujitsu, IBM, State Farm, MindSharp, CBTNuggets, Thomson, Pearson, and Skillsoft among others. Mr. Shannon has authored many books, training manuals, blog articles, and CBT modules over the years as well. He has attained the CCNP-Security, CISSP, CCSP, CCSK, SecurityX, and ITIL 4 Managing Professional along with several various cloud-based certifications. He is an avid music producer/publisher and resides with his wife Abilene Texas.