Description
Book SynopsisThis book is for cybersecurity leaders across all industries and organizations. It is intended to bridge the gap between the data center and the board room. This book examines the multitude of communication challenges that CISOs are faced with every day and provides practical tools to identify your audience, tailor your message and master the art of communicating. Poor communication is one of the top reasons that CISOs fail in their roles. By taking the step to work on your communication and soft skills (the two go hand-in-hand), you will hopefully never join their ranks. This is not a communication theory book. It provides just enough practical skills and techniques for security leaders to get the job done. Learn fundamental communication skills and how to apply them to day-to-day challenges like communicating with your peers, your team, business leaders and the board of directors. Learn how to produce meaningful metrics and communicate before, during and after an incident. Regardl
Trade Review
Foreword for The Security Leader’s Communication Playbook by Jeffrey W. Brown
The CISO role has evolved so rapidly in Fortune-class organizations -- from a siloed technologist to now a C-Suite leader who advises on the confluence of infosec, risk and business initiatives. Jeff Brown is among a small cohort of security leaders who have been at the forefront of this evolution.
Jeff has led security teams in Fortune 500 financial services firms and now as the first CISO for the State of Connecticut. He’s brought that experience to this book and mixed it with his humanities training – he was a journalism major before he went into infosec – to offer an invaluable perspective on how CISOs must communicate to be effective.
Communication isn’t a CISO ‘nice-to-have’ -- it’s now an essential skill. One meeting, they need to help a sales regional head understand and own risk around customer data collection processes. The next meeting, they’re briefing the board on the risk associated with a new acquisition and presenting a mitigation roadmap. CISOs must be influencers across levels of the business. Communications skills drive influential interactions.
In this book, Jeff taps into his experience and skillset to provide clear, actionable guidance on the communication skills CISOs need to connect with the business. This hands-on guide doesn’t talk abstractly about how to communicate, but instead speaks directly to CISOs’ needs and is an essential part of any CISO’s library.
Foreword for The Security Leader’s Communication Playbook by Jeffrey W. Brown
The CISO role has evolved so rapidly in Fortune-class organizations -- from a siloed technologist to now a C-Suite leader who advises on the confluence of infosec, risk and business initiatives. Jeff Brown is among a small cohort of security leaders who have been at the forefront of this evolution.
Jeff has led security teams in Fortune 500 financial services firms and now as the first CISO for the State of Connecticut. He’s brought that experience to this book and mixed it with his humanities training – he was a journalism major before he went into infosec – to offer an invaluable perspective on how CISOs must communicate to be effective.
Communication isn’t a CISO ‘nice-to-have’ -- it’s now an essential skill. One meeting, they need to help a sales regional head understand and own risk around customer data collection processes. The next meeting, they’re briefing the board on the risk associated with a new acquisition and presenting a mitigation roadmap. CISOs must be influencers across levels of the business. Communications skills drive influential interactions.
In this book, Jeff taps into his experience and skillset to provide clear, actionable guidance on the communication skills CISOs need to connect with the business. This hands-on guide doesn’t talk abstractly about how to communicate, but instead speaks directly to CISOs’ needs and is an essential part of any CISO’s library.
Table of ContentsContents
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Author xxi
Introduction 1
Part 1 Communication Foundational Skills 13
1 Foundational Communication Skills 15
2 People Skills 43
3 The Language of Business Risk 59
4 Company Culture 79
5 Better Business Writing 93
6 Say What? Verbal Communication Skills 119
7 Communication Superpowers 157
Part 2 Communication in the Real World 183
8 Policies, Standards, Guidelines and Procedures 185
9 T raining and Awareness 203
10 Driving Change through Metrics 217
11 The High Stakes of Incident Response Communication 235
12 Communicating with Your Team and Colleagues 249
13 Managing Up: Finding Your Boss’s Communication Style 269
14 The Board of Directors 279
15 Working with Auditors 295
16 Your Next Job 305
17 Consultants and Sales: Building and Maintaining Client Relationships 325
Appendix 341
Index 361
