A practical approach
I previously wrote about the complexity of communication and the multi-faceted nature of the CISO role. Combining these perspectives, I would like to give an overview of what a communication strategy might look like for a security leader.
While in quarantine after arriving in Australia, I had a chance to catch-up on some learning.
I completed two specialisation tracks on Coursera offered by Macquarie Business School as part of their Global MBA programme. The courses covered a variety topics, including negotiations, change management, storytelling, board engagement, innovation, strategic management, sustainability, supply chains and more.
Building on my previous blogs on CISO responsibilities, initial priorities and developing information security strategy, I wanted to share an example of what a security dashboard might look like. It is important to communicate regularly with your stakeholders and sharing a status update like this might be one way of doing it. The dashboard incorporates a high-level view of a threat landscape, top risks and security capabilities to address these risks (with maturity and projected progression for each). Feel free to use this as a starting point and adjust to your needs.
The dashboard above aligns to the NIST Cybersecurity Framework functions as structuring your security programme activities in this way, in my experience, allows for better communication with business stakeholders. However, capabilities can be adjusted to align with any other framework or your control set of choice. Some of the elements can be deliberately simplified further depending on your target audience.
Feel free to refer to my previous blogs on developing security metrics and KPIs and maturity assessment for more information.
In my previous blogs on the role of the CISO, CISO’s first 100 days and developing security strategy and architecture, I described some of the points a security leader should consider initially while formulating an approach to supporting an organisation. I wanted to build on this and summarise some of the business parameters in a high-level framework that can be used as a guide to learn about the company in order to tailor a security strategy accordingly.
This framework can also be used as a due diligence cheat sheet while deciding on or prioritising potential opportunities – feel free to adapt it to your needs.
I’m often asked what the responsibilities of a CISO or Head of Information Security are. Regardless of the title, the remit of a security leadership role varies from organisation to organisation. At its core, however, they have one thing in common – they enable the businesses to operate securely. Protecting the company brand, managing risk and building customer trust through safeguarding the data they entrusted you with are key.
There are various frameworks out there that can help structure a security programme but it is a job of a security leader to understand the business context and prioritise activities accordingly. I put the below diagram together (inspired by Rafeeq Rehman) to give an idea of some of the key initiatives and responsibilities you could consider. Feel free to adapt and tailor to the needs of your organisation.
You might also find my previous blogs on the first 100 days as a CISO and developing an information security strategy useful.
Cyber Security Leadership 