Cyber Security WEBINAR — How to Ace Your InfoSec Board Deck

Communication is a vital skill for any leader at an
organization, regardless of seniority. For security leaders, this
goes double. Communicating clearly works on multiple levels. On the
one hand, security leaders and CISOs must be able to communicate
strategies clearly – instructions, incident response plans, and
security policies. On the other, they must be able to communicate
the importance of security and the value of having robust defenses
to the C-level.

For CISOs and other security leaders, this latter skill is
crucial but often overlooked or not prioritized. A new webinar:
“How to ace your Infosec board
deck^[1],” looks to shed light on
both the importance of being able to communicate clearly with
management, and key strategies to do so effectively. The webinar
will feature a conversation with vCISO and Cybersecurity Consultant
Dr. Eric Cole, as well as Norwest Venture Partners General Partner
Dave Zilberman.

More so than just talking about the dollar value of a security
policy, however, security leaders need to show the importance of
processes, tasks, decisions, and how threats and other security
risks impact the math.

From tactics to strategy

One of the biggest differences in communicating to a security
team or organization and communicating with management is the scale
on which decisions are judged. Most security leaders are focused on
the tactical world – the day-to-day perspective required to
effectively defend their organizations. This view focuses on the
actual decisions made daily, the processes put in place, incident
response plans, and the immediate impact of these tasks.

For security leaders, this is essential. Threats happen on an
immediate basis, and leaders must be able to make decisions that
directly deal with them. However, tactics is nothing without a more
strategic view. Even the most detail-focused security leader has a
plan for how the overall protection of their organization looks.
This strategic view abstracts the minute aspects of security while
focusing on the big picture.

Bridging the communication gap

Unlike security leaders who are immersed in their tasks
day-to-day, boards and C-levels are more concerned with the
strategic side. To communicate effectively the value of their work,
CISOs must be able to translate the tasks, policies, decisions, and
tactics they deploy into their broader impact on the
organization.

This includes not only the work being done, but also the risks
and threats that could create issues for an organization. Board
members might be less concerned with the specifics of how their
organization is being protected, and more about the impact these
strategies are delivering.

The conversation will cover:

• How InfoSec Leaders can quickly move communications
  from the tactical to the strategic viewpoint. One of a
  security leader’s crucial skills is the ability to convey complex
  cybersecurity tactics in a broader sense and place them in the
  context of their organization’s successes.
• How to convert complex security realities into easily
  digestible and actionable insights. The best presentations
  don’t focus on nitty gritty. Instead, they offer interpretations,
  insights, and valuable data about what they mean and how they
  affect an organization.
• How to leverage security knowledge to align
  cybersecurity priorities with business and commercial
  goals. It often seems like security and business success
  are diametric opposites, but that’s not quite true. A good security
  deck can thread the needle to align cybersecurity goals and
  business strategies in a way that enhances both.
• How can security leaders provide a real, pragmatic
  answer to the question: “how secure are we?” At the end of
  the day, the board really cares about how secure an organization
  is, and less about how they get there. This means that security
  leaders must look at their efforts and provide a transparent and
  frank accounting of the risks and how well prepared they are to
  face them.

You can register for the webinar here^[2].