Open to opportunities

LINDA DADSON

@lindadadson

Message

Senior cybersecurity GRC leader driving faster ATO approvals and stronger federal security compliance.

United States

Message

What I'm looking for

I’m looking to lead federal GRC and A&A work that improves audit readiness, shortens authorization timelines, strengthens security posture, and uses risk-based decision making to guide remediation and executive reporting.

I’m a Senior Cybersecurity GRC leader with 12+ years of federal cybersecurity experience, specializing in Assessment & Authorization (A&A), NIST RMF, Continuous Monitoring, and enterprise compliance program support. I lead ATO lifecycle execution across Moderate and High impact systems, translating NIST SP 800-53 Rev 5 and FISMA requirements into authorization packages that achieve zero rejected submissions.

At Syneren Technologies supporting NOAA, I serve as a trusted advisor to Authorizing Officials and executive stakeholders on risk-based decisions, while managing ConMon with 95%+ vulnerability scan coverage using Tenable Security Center and Nessus. I’ve accelerated authorization timelines by 20%, reduced potential exposure by 30%, and driven POA&M governance improvements that lowered outstanding findings by 40%, including FedRAMP-aligned AWS/Azure cloud assessments and strengthened security documentation and control validation.

Experience

Work history, roles, and key accomplishments

Current

Lead Senior Security Control Assessor

Current

Syneren Technologies Corporation

Feb 2020 - Present (6 years 4 months)

Led Assessment & Authorization (A&A) activities across 15+ federal information systems supporting NIST RMF Steps 1–6, achieving ATO approvals 20% faster than program averages. Provided authorization packages and continuous monitoring support, including vulnerability scan coverage and POA&M governance.

A&A ATO NIST RMF IATO FISMA SSP SAP ATO Letters Monitoring Nessus CVE CVSS RSA Archer FedRAMP AWS Microsoft Azure IAM RBAC MFA Configuration Management Incident Response

Information System Security Officer

MBL Technologies

Sep 2016 - Jul 2019 (2 years 10 months)

Managed Continuous Monitoring (ConMon) programs supporting 8 federal systems to maintain authorization status and ongoing compliance. Coordinated security control validation, configuration management oversight, evidence collection, and audit response, including administration of GRC platforms.

MoA Continuous Monitoring (CONMON)ConMon Configuration Management SSP PIA FISMA RSA Archer ServiceNow GRC Impact Analysis ISA

Senior IT Security Analyst

Arthur Group

May 2014 - Sep 2016 (2 years 4 months)

Conducted FISMA and OMB A-123 security assessments across 10+ federal information systems, performing security control testing and compliance evaluations using NIST RMF and NIST SP 800-53 procedures. Supported creation of authorization artifacts and executed Nessus vulnerability assessments while assisting enterprise cybersecurity policy development.