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Alexander Sverdlov
Author

Alexander Sverdlov

CEO and founder, Venvera

Alexander is the founder of Venvera and a 20+ year veteran of European cybersecurity and compliance. He has led security and risk programmes for regulated financial institutions, fintechs and SaaS companies operating under DORA, NIS2, GDPR, ISO 27001 and the EU AI Act. Before Venvera, he founded Atlant Security, an offensive security consultancy that ran penetration tests, red-team exercises and ISO 27001 readiness programmes for clients across the EU and the Middle East. He writes on the cross-framework realities of running modern compliance: how to map one control to many obligations, where the spreadsheets fall apart, and what regulators are actually asking for once the auditor sits down.

Expertise

  • DORA implementation and Register of Information
  • NIS2 readiness and supply-chain risk
  • ISO 27001 / 27002 implementation and audit prep
  • GDPR and DPO operations
  • EU AI Act conformity assessment
  • Cross-framework control mapping and crosswalking
  • Operational resilience testing (TLPT, scenario testing)
  • Third-party risk management and vendor due diligence
  • Offensive security and red-team operations
  • Board-level reporting on compliance posture

Background

  • Founder and CEO, Venvera - GRC compliance platform
  • Founder, Atlant Security - offensive security and ISO 27001 consultancy
  • 20+ years in cybersecurity, compliance and risk management
  • Hands-on author of 125+ field-tested articles on DORA, NIS2, GDPR and ISO 27001
  • Built compliance programmes for regulated entities across the EU, UAE and Saudi Arabia
Find me:linkedin.com/in/alexsverdlatlantsecurity.com

Articles by Alexander (132)

Cyber Resilience Act Compliance Timeline
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Cyber Resilience Act Compliance Timeline

How long does Cyber Resilience Act compliance take? For most manufacturers 12 to 24 months. The phases, what drives the range, and the date to plan against.

Cyber Resilience Act Fines and Penalties
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Cyber Resilience Act Fines and Penalties

CRA fines reach 15 million euros or 2.5% of worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher. The three tiers, what triggers each, and who issues them.

EU AI Act Compliance Cost: What It Depends On
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EU AI Act Compliance Cost: What It Depends On

The Act prices roles and risk classes, not companies. What the cost is made of, where the quoted figures came from, and the step that removes most of it.

Drata Competitors: The Category, Honestly Mapped
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Drata Competitors: The Category, Honestly Mapped

Drata's competitors split into four groups that compete on different things. Work out which group your problem belongs to before you compare a single feature.

Automated Access Review Software Explained
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Automated Access Review Software Explained

What actually gets automated in an access review, what has to stay human, and how to tell the difference before you buy. With the scoring model in full.

How to Create a Risk Register
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How to Create a Risk Register

A risk register that survives an audit needs two scores, a named owner and a link to controls. The seven steps, the columns, and the mistakes to avoid.

How to Perform a Third-Party Risk Assessment
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How to Perform a Third-Party Risk Assessment

Assessing every supplier the same way is why most programmes stall. Tier first, set depth by tier, and the work becomes finishable. Seven steps.

Third-Party Risk Management Process Flow
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Third-Party Risk Management Process Flow

The flow is simple and it stalls in the same place every time: waiting on the supplier. Where each stage hands off, and how to stop the queue building.

Vendor Security Questionnaires: A Guide
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Vendor Security Questionnaires: A Guide

Questionnaires come back late for three fixable reasons. How to size one to the supplier, send it so it gets answered, and stop chasing by hand.

DORA Compliance Cost: A Line-by-Line Model (2026)
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DORA Compliance Cost: A Line-by-Line Model (2026)

Published DORA cost estimates disagree by orders of magnitude. Here is the line-by-line model that produces your number, work item by work item.

NIS2 Fines and Penalties: What You Actually Risk
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NIS2 Fines and Penalties: What You Actually Risk

NIS2 sets minimum ceilings: EUR 10M or 2% of turnover for essential entities, 7M or 1.4% for important ones, plus personal liability for managers.

How Long Does DORA Compliance Take?
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How Long Does DORA Compliance Take?

DORA has applied since January 2025, so the real question is how long from a standing start. The honest answer, phase by phase, with the long pole named.

NIS2 Compliance Cost: What to Budget
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NIS2 Compliance Cost: What to Budget

Germany priced NIS2 for its own economy: about 2.1bn one-off and 2.2bn a year across 30,000 entities. Here is what that arithmetic means for your budget.

Drata Alternatives: An Honest Comparison
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Drata Alternatives: An Honest Comparison

Drata is strong at what it was built for. The useful question is which alternative fits your regimes, your data residency and your pricing tolerance.

A Drata Alternative for EU Compliance
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A Drata Alternative for EU Compliance

US-first compliance platforms answer to auditors. EU regimes ask you to file with a regulator. Where that difference changes which tool fits you.

Drata vs Vanta: An Honest Comparison
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Drata vs Vanta: An Honest Comparison

Drata and Vanta are close enough that most buyers decide on commercial terms. Here is where they genuinely differ, and when neither is the right answer.

Vanta Alternatives: Compared on Fit
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Vanta Alternatives: Compared on Fit

Most Vanta alternatives are the same product with a different logo. The ones worth your time differ on price transparency, regimes covered or weight.

Secureframe vs Drata: Which Fits You
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Secureframe vs Drata: Which Fits You

Secureframe and Drata overlap almost completely on the audit standards. The deciding factors are defense-sector work, integrations and your renewal price.

Sprinto vs Vanta: Which One Fits
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Sprinto vs Vanta: Which One Fits

Sprinto is the lighter option and Vanta the more complete one. The right answer depends on team size, integration needs and how many frameworks you run.

EU AI Act Policies and Documentation
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EU AI Act Policies and Documentation

The EU AI Act asks for a document set rather than a policy. Here is what a high-risk provider has to be able to produce, article by article.

Delve Alternatives: A Buyer's Guide
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Delve Alternatives: A Buyer's Guide

If you are re-evaluating Delve, here is what has been reported, what is still only alleged, and how to pick a replacement you can actually verify.

Vanta vs Delve: What a Buyer Can Verify
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Vanta vs Delve: What a Buyer Can Verify

Delve sells speed and Vanta sells breadth. After the events of 2026, the more useful comparison is which claims a buyer can independently check.

EU AI Act Penalties and Fines Explained
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EU AI Act Penalties and Fines Explained

Article 99 sets three tiers, up to 35M EUR or 7% of worldwide turnover. The rule for SMEs inverts the usual formula, and most summaries get it wrong.

NIS2 vs ISO 27001: How They Overlap
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NIS2 vs ISO 27001: How They Overlap

ISO 27001 covers much of what NIS2 asks for, and satisfies none of it by itself. Where the overlap is real, and the four gaps certification leaves.

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