Essential Attributes of Security Leadership
Since I first wrote this back in 2021 (titled "CISO: Archeologist, Historian or Explorer?") it seems ever more true that complex and...
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- Sep 10
- 13 min
Crucial Questions from Governments and Regulators
In this, fourth and final post in the series of Crucial Questions I’m going to focus on those from governments and regulators. This...
1,417 views
- Aug 27
- 23 min
Crucial Questions from CISOs and Security Teams
In this, third in a series of Crucial Questions posts I’m going to focus on the questions from CISOs and security teams. This builds on...
4,794 views
- Aug 13
- 13 min
Crucial Questions from CIOs and CTOs
In the last post I covered the crucial questions from Boards and executives. Here I will cover the questions I’m asked by CIOs, CTOs and...
3,928 views
- Jul 16
- 3 min
3 Year Review
I’ve been doing this blog for around 3 years, largely succeeding in posting every 2 weeks. I have learnt a lot in this process and I...
2,581 views
- Jul 2
- 5 min
The Reporting Line of Security Teams / CISOs - Updated
This can be an emotive topic for many people. It is one, I’ve found, colored more by dogma than nuance (as it seems with many things...
3,831 views
- Jun 18
- 6 min
Are Security Analogies Counterproductive?
Do analogies actually help us or do they set back our ability to drive change? On the face of it they are a useful explanatory tool, as...
1,594 views
- May 21
- 7 min
Defense in Depth
Defense in depth is a well accepted security principle. Intuitively, it stipulates there should be multiple lines of controls so as to...
3,562 views
- Apr 21
- 3 min
The Stress and Joy of Security Jobs - Updated
There’s a lot going on in the world from conflict, crime, economic and many other pressures. Many of these matters have security...
3,056 views
- Apr 9
- 9 min
10 Fundamental (but really hard) Security Metrics
As an industry we have been trying to deal with the issue of security metrics for a long time. I’ve written about this here, and in the...
12,044 views
- Mar 12
- 9 min
Human Error
Human error is not an explanation, rather it is something to be explained. In analyzing and learning from incidents, not just security...
2,372 views
- Feb 26
- 4 min
Controls - Updated
I wrote the first version of this post nearly 3 years ago. It is interesting that since then much of it remains true. Oddly, it also...
3,501 views
- Jan 29
- 16 min
Secrets of Successful Security Programs - Part 2
As introduced in the last post, a successful security program is made up of two distinct elements: A series of episodic big bets that...
5,507 views
- Jan 15
- 11 min
Secrets of Successful Security Programs - Part 1
A successful security program (although I imagine this advice could apply to any discipline) is made up of two distinct elements: A...
9,638 views
- Dec 4, 2021
- 8 min
How is the Security Profession Doing?
I spoke on a CIISEC panel a few months ago about the state of the information security profession. This post is based on remarks I made...
2,509 views
- Nov 20, 2021
- 4 min
Security Program Tactics - Updated
When starting or reinvigorating a security program, focus on a small number of meta-objectives that can have sustained outsize effects in...
2,199 views
- Nov 6, 2021
- 6 min
Slipstreaming : Business Tactics for Security & Control Implementation
One of the most frequent cybersecurity binary thinking curses is that just because senior leadership in organizations won’t do every...
1,398 views
- Oct 22, 2021
- 4 min
Conferences and the Wider Security Eco System Culture - Toxic or Not?
This could be part of another whole series on the curse of binary thinking so please read this in that tone. In other words, I’m trying...
885 views
- Oct 9, 2021
- 3 min
The Leading Indicators of a Great Info/Cybersecurity Program - Updated
As we see more incidents occurring, whether ransomware, data breaches or fraud, many thoughts turn to how to know whether those we do...
3,971 views
- Sep 25, 2021
- 4 min
Cyber Deterrence : A Simple Perspective
Cyber deterrence is a topic that comes in and out of vogue. It is widely studied but often misunderstood. It also suffers tremendously...
1,351 views