Cybersecurity Engineer · Author · Human

Bill
Corning

Cybersecurity Engineer
Author, The Willing Prison
Founder, The Willing Prison Project

Twenty-three years in IT. Nearly a decade in cybersecurity. One memoir about what happens when the walls you build to protect yourself become the thing that traps you. Not your average résumé.

Bill Corning

23 Years of Building Things That Actually Work

I didn't start in cybersecurity. I started in a call center.

Over twenty-three years I worked my way through nearly every layer of IT — helpdesk, systems administration, network operations, security engineering. I've managed complex infrastructure and complex people. I've worked in the video game industry and the financial sector. I've held the title of individual contributor and I've led teams of security engineers. The IT world hasn't stopped moving, and neither have I.

I never went to college. I don't have a degree on the wall. What I have is two decades of real-world experience cutting through problems that textbooks don't cover — and a track record of building things that actually work.

My specialty is vulnerability management. Not the checkbox kind — the kind where you inherit a broken program, rebuild it from the ground up, get stakeholder buy-in across the organization, and actually reduce risk. I've done it at scale using Qualys VMDR, and I know the difference between a dashboard that looks good and a program that performs.

But beyond the technical work, I lead by a philosophy I arrived at the hard way — managing a team of security engineers at defi Solutions taught me something that no certification ever could:

People first. Process second. Tools last.

Most organizations get this backwards. They buy the tool, then wonder why adoption fails and risk doesn't actually go down. I invest in the people around me first — their growth, their clarity, their buy-in. Then we build the process that serves them. Then we evaluate what tools actually fit. In that order, every time.

I believe in paying it forward. In leaving every organization better than I found it. In the idea that a security program is only as strong as the people running it — and people perform best when someone has genuinely invested in them first.

I'm currently available for cybersecurity engineering and leadership roles — US remote or Europe remote.

CySA+ Qualys VMDR Expert Vulnerability Management Consultant Information Security Leadership
Download Resume
Vulnerability Mgmt
Qualys VMDR, VM lifecycle, Program Design, Stakeholder Reporting, Risk Management aligned with BIA
EDR Operations
CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Netskope, Defender, Incident Response
Cloud & Identity
Microsoft Entra ID, IAM, Azure B2C, Conditional Acess Policys, Key Vault Mangement
Compliance
SOC 2, ISO 27001, CIS Benchmarks, Third Party Risk Assessments (TPRA)

From Call Center to
Security Engineering

2003 – 2007
Senior Technical Support
Sony Online Entertainment · San Diego, CA
Where it all started. Customer escalations, training new hires, earning Outstanding Service Representative multiple times. The foundation of every skill that followed.
2007 – 2011
System Engineer
Sony Online Entertainment · San Diego, CA
Mission-critical production infrastructure. Server lifecycle, data center operations, global gaming infrastructure. Building the muscle memory of enterprise IT.
2011 – 2015
Network Operations Administrator
Sony Interactive Entertainment · San Diego, CA
Global NOC. 24/7 Linux and Windows infrastructure. Played a key role supporting the PlayStation 4 launch — zero downtime on one of gaming's biggest nights.
2015 – 2018
System Administrator
Sony Interactive Entertainment · San Diego, CA
Endpoint security, macOS fleet management, executive threat reporting. The pivot toward dedicated security work.
2018 – 2020
Security Analyst
Sony Interactive Entertainment · San Diego, CA
Consolidated seven legacy Qualys environments into a single global tenant. Reduced org-wide vulnerabilities by 15% in six months. Where vulnerability management became a craft.
2020 – 2024
Senior → Lead Security Engineer
defi Solutions · Remote
EDR deployment, Entra ID, Azure, SIEM. Rebuilt Qualys VMDR from scratch. Led incident response. Managed certificate lifecycle. The full stack.
2024 – 2025
Manager, Security Engineering
defi Solutions · Remote
Led SOC 2 compliance, onboarded SentinelOne, built executive dashboards, managed a team of talented engineers. Then chose to return to what I love — the hands-on work.
Now
Available · Writing · Building
Espoo, Finland · Open to US Remote
Finishing a memoir. Seeking the right Information Security role. Not slowing down.
The Willing Prison book cover

The Willing Prison:
Unlocking the Gifts Inside

Every man builds a fortress. It's supposed to be temporary — a place to retreat, regroup, recover. But some men never leave. The walls become the thing that traps them.

"The key is in your pocket.
It always was."

This is a memoir about forty-six years inside. It's honest, it's dark, and it has more humor than you'd expect from someone writing about a lifetime of hiding in plain sight. It's for any man who has retreated so far inside himself that he forgot there was a world waiting on the other side.

Coming to Amazon in 2026

Visit the Book Site

Something Bigger Than a Book

The memoir started a conversation. The Project is where that conversation goes next.

The Willing Prison Project is a developing initiative focused on men's mental health — specifically the epidemic of emotional withdrawal that leaves men present in body but absent in every way that matters.

The details are still taking shape. But the mission is clear: to reach the men sitting in their own willing prisons right now, convinced the door is locked from the outside.

It isn't.

Learn More
1 in 8
Men experience depression or anxiety — most never seek help
Men are three times more likely to die by suicide than women
The number of men who don't have to stay inside

Let's Talk

Whether you're a hiring manager, a reader, a journalist, or just someone who needed to read something today — the door is open.

Currently Available

I'm actively seeking roles that align with my experience — whether as an individual contributor or as a manager/leader. Based between Espoo, Finland and Jay, Florida, I'm available to work in either country and am not limited to one location.

US Remote Europe Remote Helsinki · Finland Jay · Florida Vulnerability Mgmt Individual Contributor Manager / Leader