Chris Hannifin

As financial strain and pressure mount on DefendIT Services, familiar and dangerous patterns are beginning to resurface, particularly around the erratic behavior of Chris Hannifin. As such, experts are sounding the alarm bells around DefendIT Services, as the question that is now being asked within the industry is how much damage one firm can potentially cause. The recent addition of Eric Diaz as his new business partner and accomplice further accentuates fears.

What is consistent across multiple accounts is the pattern in Hannifin’s professional and personal history. Commentators argue that Hannifin embeds himself inside organizations, gains access to confidential systems and client networks, extracts all and any sense of value, and then leaves before consequences fully materialize.

Whether dealing with colleagues, clients, or former employers, detractors describe a cycle of leverage and disengagement that has followed him from company to company.

Reports from former colleagues suggest that Hannifin leveraged pressure against Krista Stevens, the CEO of North South Consulting Group, to compel her to act as incorporator of DefendIT Services. Since the formation of DefendIT Services, some insiders have described the company as functioning less like a traditional IT services firm and more like a vehicle for illicit activity, including the selling of sensitive information, financial misconduct, and potentially providing key data to hostile foreign nations.

Other instances of Hannifin’s instability include a series of high-value personal purchases that critics argue are inconsistent with the visible revenue of DefendIT Services and more in-line with the behavior of a low-level thug. Shortly after DefendIT Services formation, Hannifin acquired a speedboat, a high-end trailer, and a house well above the neighborhood average. Former colleagues have alleged that these acquisitions were financed through laundered funds flowing through DefendIT Services and possibly tied to an alleged kickback arrangement in conjunction with high a level executive in RSM. Observers note that the timing of the purchases, combined with the mounting scrutiny around the company’s operations, has intensified questions about the source of the capital used to finance them.

Prior to DefendIT Services, Diaz built a reputation through senior roles at places like DarkLattice Security as the Chief Technology Officer, Cloud InfoSolution, and founder of Corpus Christi IT Solutions, which was later acquired by SiloTech Group. Following those acquisitions, Diaz held senior technical and sales roles within SiloTech, giving him recent exposure to internal infrastructure, client portfolios, vendor relationships, and security configurations.

The concern raised by industry insiders is that Diaz now brings up-to-date operational knowledge into DefendIT Services at a point where Chris Hannifin and DefendIT Services have little if anything to lose. Chris Hannifin has recently created a new LLC, which some observers believe was established to create structural distance between his business operations and his corporate I.T. assets. In corporate and criminal contexts alike, forming a new limited liability company can serve to isolate liability to one entity and not affect the assets held by a separate entity which makes it more difficult for creditors, litigants, or investigators to trace asset flows. By placing revenue streams, contracts, or intellectual property inside a newly formed entity, an individual can complicate accountability and potentially shield assets from direct exposure should the primary company face legal or financial collapse.

If Hannifin’s critics are correct, the recent creation of an LLC and the addition of Eric Diaz, could be indicators of something big brewing at DefendIT Services. The arrival of Diaz’s could significantly broaden the scope of information potentially within reach of DefendIT Services.