Consulting servicesAll seven engagements Certification Readiness01 · Prepare Policy Development02 · Foundation Risk Assessment03 · Measure Internal Audit04 · Test Audit Defense05 · Defend Security Awareness TrainingContinuous vCISOContinuous Testimonials Blog About us About our CEO Contact us

Certification & compliance advisory

World-class certification and compliance support

Compliance may be the toughest job out there. The stakes are growing higher all the time, and you've got enough pressure. Whether you are complying with a regulation, or certifying to a key standard, we are here to ensure your success.

Standards supported
0 frameworks ISO, SOC, NIST, CMMC, TISAX, HIPAA and FFIEC
On the audit bench
0 years of combined audit experience, across consultants who have held the role in-house
CEO
Paige T. Needling — CISA, PMP, ITIL · ISO Certified Lead Auditor (27001, 22301, 20000, 9001)
WOSB Certified — U.S. Small Business Administration ISSA International Awards — Security Professional of the Year 2023 Technology Association of Georgia — Proud Member 2025–2026 Cyber AB — Registered Practitioner Organization (RPO) for CMMC
ISO 27001ISO 27017ISO 27018ISO 27701ISO 22301ISO 20000ISO 9001ISO 42001SOC 1 Type 1 & 2SOC 2 Type 1 & 2NIST 800-53NIST 800-171CMMCTISAXHIPAAFFIECISO 27001ISO 27017ISO 27018ISO 27701ISO 22301ISO 20000ISO 9001ISO 42001SOC 1 Type 1 & 2SOC 2 Type 1 & 2NIST 800-53NIST 800-171CMMCTISAXHIPAAFFIEC

We can steward you through the entire process, or focus on a piece of the puzzle.

Needling Worldwide can guide you through the entire certification or compliance process, or assist you with a specific module. Internal audits and risk assessments are probably the most frequently-requested stand-alone services due to their vital role in setting a proper foundation for everything else.

Policy development is also in high demand — it's the kind of thing that most companies don't have the resources, or the patience, to execute in a manner thorough enough for today's demanding certification and compliance standards.

Find out more

The readiness path

Five stages to a certificate,
two engagements that never stop.

Each engagement can stand alone. Run end‑to‑end, they follow the order below.

01 · Prepare

Certification Readiness

Delivering expert advice and practical assistance in preparing for and building compliant information security programs.

See the engagement

02 · Foundation

Policy Development

Hands-on assistance in the development of written policies, standards, guidelines, and procedures within a formal protection plan.

See the engagement

03 · Measure

Risk Assessment

Provide organizations a formal risk assessment that identifies potential vulnerabilities to valuable company assets.

See the engagement

04 · Test

Internal Audit

Our audit specialists are experienced in performing internal information security audits for organizations globally.

See the engagement

05 · Defend

Audit Readiness & Defense

On-site audit support and certification/compliance attendance — we are there when the auditor is.

See the engagement

Continuous

Security Awareness Training

Define and establish an appropriate SAT program for any organization, or use our SAT module. Includes our ISO/IEC 42001 AI governance class for boards, executives and risk leaders.

See the engagement

Continuous

vCISO

CISO is the critical position in today's secure organization. Outsource the function without compromise, delivering best-in-class CISO skills at a fraction of a full-time position.

See the engagement

Our commitment to quality

What do you gain by choosing
Needling Worldwide?

A certificate is the receipt. The work is everything that has to be true before one gets issued.

Auditors who have held the role

Our specialists are not researchers reading a standard for the first time. They have run security and compliance functions inside enterprises, several with more than twenty years of audit experience, and they write reports for senior management and audit committees because that is who they used to report to.

An independent, unbiased view

We are outside your reporting lines, so we can tell you what an assessor will actually find rather than what is comfortable to hear. That independence is the whole value of an internal audit — a finding raised by us is a finding you get to fix before it counts.

Practice before it counts

An internal audit run properly is a rehearsal. Clients tell us the value was having their team sit through the questions once before the external auditor asked them, so nothing in the certification audit is a surprise.

We stay for the audit

Audit readiness and defense means we are there on the day. We are present through the certification and compliance audits to help you defend your policies, your scope and your position, so the work you have done is represented properly.

More about the firm

In their words

The teams who have
been through it with us.

During COVID we lost sixty percent of our GRC staff, specifically our designated ISO27001 Compliance Analyst. Needling Worldwide stepped in as a partner to not only train the team on ISO27001 requirements but also to augment the GRC staff.
Aimee Zahn
Manager, IT Security & Compliance
Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Needling Worldwide has greatly helped us develop and mature our Information Security Management System (ISMS).
John Neiling
Manager, Infrastructure & Security
Amsted Automotive Group
Needling Worldwide has been a valuable partner for EXTEND Resources, helping complete our internal audit requirement and ensuring that we are well prepared for ISO 27001 certification.
Antonella Commiato
CTO, CISO
EXTEND Resources
Needling Worldwide has walked us through the ISO27001 and SOC 2 compliance and certification process. The word is out that they make the process easy for the auditors.
John Busey
CISO
AuthenticID
We found the internal audit that Needling Worldwide conducted to be invaluable in that it helped to ensure that our team had practice before going into the external audit.
Jennifer Butts
Sr. Manager, Cloud Security & Operations
PowerPlan
Needling Worldwide has become an invaluable partner in keeping our organization compliant.
Chris Honeywell
VP of IT/Cybersecurity
Sanibel Captiva Trust Co.
Needling Worldwide is much more than a vendor to Whoa Networks. We rely on Needling as a valuable and indispensable business partner.
Mike Leonard
CISO
Whoa Networks, Inc.
As a result of Needling’s outstanding support, we completed both stages of our ISO 22301 with no findings and only a few minor OFIs.
Phillip Cathey
IT Director
Definitive Logic

Organizations we have worked alongside

Panasonic Avionics Corporation Amsted Automotive Group AuthenticID PowerPlan EXTEND Resources Sanibel Captiva Trust Co. Whoa Networks Definitive Logic

Start here

Which standard or framework
are you pursuing?

Whether it's a first ISO 27001 certificate, a SOC 2 Type 2 with a deadline, or a CMMC assessment you can't afford to fail — tell our sales team what you're working toward and we'll scope it with you.

Office
2131 Woodruff Rd, Ste 2100 #116
Greenville, SC 29607