John Martinez

Technical Evangelist, has had a long 30+ year career in systems engineering and architecture, but has spent the last 13+ years working on the Cloud, and specifically, Cloud Security. He's currently the Technical Evangelist at StrongDM, taking the message of Zero Trust Privileged Access Management (PAM) to the world. As a practitioner, he architected and created cloud automation, DevOps, and security and compliance solutions at Netflix and Adobe. He worked closely with customers at Evident.io, where he was telling the world about how cloud security should be done at conferences, meetups and customer sessions. Before coming to StrongDM, he lead an innovations and solutions team at Palo Alto Networks, working across many of the company's security products.

StrongDM has been featured in Forbes, The New Stack, VentureBeat, DevOps.com, TechCrunch, and Fortune.

Expertise

Security, Access, Integrations, Databases, Compliance, NIST, Authentication, HIPAA, Product, AWS, Zero Trust

Latest blog posts from John

Top 9 Cloud Databases for 2025 (Free & Paid)

This guide breaks down the top cloud database solutions reshaping how organizations store, manage, and scale data. From relational databases to NoSQL options, we’ll cover what matters most when choosing the right solution for your needs. By the end, you’ll understand how modern cloud databases drive scalability and performance—and which one is the best fit for your organization.

NIST Password Guidelines: 2025 Updates & Best Practices

The latest updates in NIST Special Publication shift focus from complexity to usability. Key changes include: 1. Prioritizing password length over complexity. 2. Mandating compromised credential screening. 3. Encouraging passwordless authentication methods. 4. Eliminating forced password resets unless compromise is suspected.

15 Cybersecurity Regulations for Financial Services in 2025

In this guide, we’ll cover the 15 most important cybersecurity regulations for financial services providers. We’ll show exactly which ones—from GDPR and PCI DSS to MAS TRM, CBEST, and others—apply to your organization, and explain, in plain in English, what they are, how they impact your business, and how you can initiate a path for compliance.

HIPAA Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) Requirements in 2025

The HIPAA Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) requirement is a security measure that requires users to verify their identity using at least two different factors—such as something they know (a password), something they have (a smartphone or token), or something they are (a fingerprint)—to access systems containing electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). This additional layer of security is designed to protect sensitive healthcare data from unauthorized access, even if one credential is

How to Streamline PSD2 Compliance with StrongDM

In this post, we’ll explore what PSD2 compliance challenges businesses face, and how StrongDM simplifies secure access to help organizations confidently meet PSD2 requirements.

13 StrongDM Use Cases with Real Customer Case Studies

Managing access to critical infrastructure is a challenge for many organizations. Legacy tools often struggle to keep up, creating inefficiencies, security gaps, and frustration. StrongDM offers a modern solution that simplifies access management, strengthens security, and improves workflows. In this post, we’ll explore 13 real-world examples of how StrongDM helps teams solve access challenges and achieve their goals.

What Is Network Level Authentication (NLA)? (How It Works)

Network Level Authentication (NLA) is a security feature of Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) that requires users to authenticate before establishing a remote session. By enforcing this pre-authentication step, NLA reduces the risk of unauthorized access, conserves server resources, and protects against attacks like credential interception and denial of service. While effective in securing RDP sessions, NLA is limited to a single protocol, lacks flexibility, and can add complexity in

How to Automate Continuous Compliance in AWS with StrongDM

Enterprises seek ways to effectively address the needs of dynamic, always-evolving cloud infrastructures, and StrongDM has developed a platform that is designed with built-in capabilities to support continuous compliance in AWS environments.

IP Whitelisting: Meaning, Alternatives & More [2025 Guide]

IP whitelisting is a security strategy that restricts access to a network/system to a specified list of trusted IP addresses. This approach ensures that only individuals using the approved addresses can access certain resources.

Mitigating Shadow Access Risks with Zero Trust PAM

Discover how StrongDM's Zero Trust PAM and fine-grained authorization secure cloud data plane access and mitigate shadow access risks without hindering productivity.

Why Just-in-Time Access Is Key for Zero Trust Security in AWS

Learn why Just-in-Time (JIT) access is essential for Zero Trust security in AWS environments. Discover how StrongDM's JIT access enhances security, optimizes workflows, and ensures compliance with Zero Trust principles.

What Is Zero Trust for the Cloud? (And Why It's Important)

Zero Trust cloud security is a cybersecurity model that operates on the principle that no user, device, system, or action should be trusted by default — even if it's inside your organization’s own network. This approach minimizes the risk of breaches and other cyber threats by limiting access to sensitive information and resources based on user roles, device security posture, and contextual factors.

Incident Response Plan: Your 7-Step Process

If organizations hope to minimize their exposure to attacks and mitigate any damage done by a threat, they must have a comprehensive incident response plan. An effective plan will detect, contain, and enable rapid recovery from security breaches, preserving your business continuity and operability. We've outlined seven incident response steps for you to follow so you can be prepared for a threat.

HIPAA Omnibus Rule: Everything You Need to Know

The HIPAA Omnibus Rule strengthens privacy and security protections for patient health information, extends liability to business associates, and increases penalties for non-compliance.

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