Mirren McDade is a senior writer and journalist at Expert Insights, spending each day researching, writing, editing and publishing content, covering a variety of topics and solutions, and interviewing industry experts.
She is an experienced copywriter with a background in a range of industries, including cloud business technologies, cloud security, information security and cyber security, and has conducted interviews with several industry experts.
Mirren holds a First Class Honors degree in English from Edinburgh Napier University.
Articles By: Mirren McDade
221 results
Best Identity Security Posture Management Solutions
We reviewed 9 ISPM platforms on the depth of identity risk discovery, how accurately each identifies misconfigured permissions and risky access paths, and the integration quality with the IAM and directory tools security teams already use.
by Mirren McDade
Best Alternatives to KnowBe4 SAT
We reviewed the leading KnowBe4 alternatives on training content freshness, the sophistication of phishing simulation templates, and the behavioral reporting that shows whether training is translating into lower click rates.
by Mirren McDade
CISO Q&A: Zach Lewis On Surviving LockBit And Why Most CISOs Will Face A Ransomware Attack
“We’ve got to be right all the time, and the bad guys just have to be right once to get in,” says Zach Lewis, CIO and CISO at the University of Health Sciences and Pharmacy in St. Louis.
by Mirren McDade
Best File Integrity Monitoring Solutions
We reviewed the leading file integrity monitoring solutions on change detection granularity, alerting speed, and how well compliance reports hold up against PCI DSS, HIPAA, and SOC 2 audit requirements.
by Joel Witts
Best Patch Management Solutions For Windows
Discover the best patch management solutions for Windows devices. Explore features such as update scanning, automated patch deployment, and reporting.
by Mirren McDade
Best Web Application Security Solutions
We reviewed the leading web application security platforms on the breadth of vulnerabilities they detect, the quality of runtime protection, and how well each integrates with development and operations workflows.
by Mirren McDade
Backup For Microsoft Entra ID
We reviewed 9 Entra ID backup solutions on granular object recovery, retention depth, and security controls. Native Microsoft tooling does not cover what these platforms protect.
by Mirren McDade
Best Alternatives To Microsoft Entra ID
We reviewed 9 Microsoft Entra ID alternatives on identity lifecycle management, SSO and MFA capabilities, and how well each supports environments that extend beyond Microsoft's ecosystem. Some offer capabilities Entra ID does not.
by Mirren McDade
Best Identity Governance And Administration Solutions
We reviewed the leading IGA platforms on access certification workflow accuracy, the depth of lifecycle management automation, and how well each enforces least privilege across the identity environment.
by Mirren McDade
Best Alternatives To LastPass
We reviewed the leading LastPass alternatives on encryption architecture, admin control depth, and how smooth the migration process is for organizations moving vaults, shared credentials, and policy configurations to a new platform.
by Mirren McDade
Best Enterprise Browsers
We reviewed the leading enterprise browser platforms on DLP enforcement within browser sessions, admin visibility into web activity, and how well each controls data movement through the most commonly used application in any organization.
by Mirren McDade
Best CrowdStrike Alternatives
We reviewed the leading CrowdStrike alternatives on behavioral detection accuracy, investigation tooling, and how well each delivers on the core promise of fast, reliable endpoint threat detection and response at enterprise scale.
by Mirren McDade
Best Container Security Tools
We reviewed the leading container security tools on image vulnerability scanning depth, runtime anomaly detection accuracy, and how well each integrates with Kubernetes and container orchestration platforms without adding significant operational overhead.
by Mirren McDade
Best Compliance Automation Tools
We reviewed the leading compliance automation platforms on the controls they monitor continuously, the evidence they collect automatically, and the time they save during audit preparation.
by Mirren McDade
Best Application Control Solutions
We reviewed the leading application control platforms on the flexibility of allowlisting policies, how well each handles software updates without generating false blocks, and the reporting that surfaces unauthorized application installation attempts across the device estate.
by Mirren McDade
Best Age Verification Solutions
We reviewed the leading age verification solutions on the accuracy of verification methods, the coverage of international regulatory requirements, and how frictionless the verification experience is for users who pass the check.
by Mirren McDade
Best Active Directory Management Tools
We reviewed the leading Active Directory management tools on the granularity of role-based access controls, audit log quality, and the delegation capabilities that allow IT teams to manage AD at scale without excessive administrative overhead.
by Mirren McDade
Best Alternatives To SentinelOne
We reviewed the leading SentinelOne alternatives on AI-driven detection quality, the depth of behavioral analysis, and how the pricing and deployment models compare for organizations of different sizes and security maturity.
by Mirren McDade
Best Runtime Security Tools
We reviewed the leading runtime security platforms on detection speed, anomaly identification accuracy, and how well they integrate with existing incident response workflows without adding operational overhead.
by Mirren McDade
Best Managed Cybersecurity Services
We reviewed the leading managed cybersecurity service providers on the breadth of protection they deliver, analyst quality, and the compliance support that matters for organizations in regulated industries.
by Mirren McDade
Best Endpoint Backup Solutions
We reviewed the leading endpoint backup solutions on backup automation, the speed and granularity of recovery, and how well each manages protection across organizations with endpoints in multiple locations.
by Mirren McDade
Best Top 8 Cybersecurity Professional Services
We reviewed 8 cybersecurity professional services providers on the range of disciplines covered, engagement model flexibility, and the evidence of real-world outcomes. Here's what we think is worth considering.
by Mirren McDade
Best Browser Extensions for Security
We reviewed 8 browser security extensions on the breadth of protection they add, how reliably they identify malicious sites before credentials are entered, and the performance impact that determines whether users will keep them enabled.
by Mirren McDade
Best Bot Detection And Protection Solutions
We reviewed the leading bot detection platforms on how accurately they distinguish malicious bots from legitimate automation, the sophistication of behavioral analysis, and how well each handles evolving bot techniques designed to evade signature-based detection.
by Mirren McDade
Best Alternatives To BeyondTrust
We reviewed the top BeyondTrust alternatives on privileged access management, endpoint privilege control, and vendor support quality. Here's what we think is worth a serious look.
by Mirren McDade
Best Anti Impersonation And Spoofing Solutions
We reviewed the leading anti-impersonation and spoofing solutions on DMARC enforcement depth, display name spoofing detection, and how well each identifies the lookalike domains that attackers use to conduct convincing phishing campaigns.
by Mirren McDade
Best 8 AI Compliance Solutions for Business (2026)
We reviewed the leading AI compliance platforms on how well they map to the EU AI Act, NIST AI RMF, and emerging sector-specific requirements, and whether the governance workflows they provide are operational or just documentation.
by Mirren McDade
Best Security Compliance Software
We reviewed the leading security compliance platforms on framework breadth, control mapping accuracy, and whether the remediation workflows they offer are actionable for security teams under pressure.
by Mirren McDade
Best Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) Software
We reviewed the leading DSAR software solutions on the speed of automated data discovery across sources, quality of response package generation, and how well each tracks requests from submission through to verified closure.
by Mirren McDade
Best Active Directory Recovery Tools
We reviewed the leading Active Directory recovery tools on the granularity of object-level restoration, how quickly each can perform a full forest recovery, and whether the backup architecture protects against the ransomware attacks that most commonly take AD offline.
by Mirren McDade
Best On-Premises Endpoint Security Solutions
We reviewed on-premises endpoint security platforms on detection accuracy, management console depth, and how they perform without cloud connectivity. Here's what we found for organizations that need full local control.
by Mirren McDade
Best Regulatory Change Management Software
We reviewed 11 regulatory change management platforms on intelligence feed quality, alert speed, and how well they connect new requirements to existing controls.
by Mirren McDade