Business Security Weekly (Audio)

In today’s uncertain macroeconomic environment, security and risk leaders need practical guidance on managing existing spending and new budgetary requests. Jeff Pollard, Vice-President, Principal Analyst on the Security and Risk Team at Forrester Research, joins Business Security Weekly to review Forrester's Budget Planning Guide 2025: Security And Risk. This data-driven report provides spending benchmarks, insights, and recommendations that will keep you on budget while still mitigating the most critical risks facing your organization. Jeff will cover which areas to invest, divest, and experiment, but you'll have to listen to get the details. In the leadership and communications segment, The CEO’s Role in Setting Tone at the Top, CISOs, C-suite remain at odds over corporate cyber resilience, Warren Buffett's Secret To Success? Run It 'Like A Small Family Business,' Says One Of His CEOs, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-368

Does the CISO need to act like a politician? Negotiating budgets, communicating risks, and selling your strategy across the organization does sound a little like a politician. And if that's the case, are you hiring the right campaign staff? Kush Sharma, former CISO for CPR, City of Toronto, and Saputo, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss why you should run your security program like an election campaign. Kush will discuss the other positions you need to hire, not just the technical positions, to help you budget, communicate, and sell your strategy. A politician can't do it all by themself, so why should a CISO? In the leadership and communications segment, PwC Urges Boards to Give CISOs a Seat at the Table, CISO Salary Surge: Fewer Job Changes, Bigger Paychecks for Experienced Cybersecurity Leaders, Fostering a cybersecurity-first culture: Key leadership insights for building resilient businesses, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-367

The zero-trust security model has been billed as an ultra-safe defense against emerging, unrecognized and well-known threats. Unlike perimeter security, it doesn't assume people inside an organization are automatically safe. Instead, it requires every user and device -- inside and out -- to be authorized before any access is granted. Sounds enticing, but deployments require major architectural, hardware, and software changes to be successful. Rob Allen, Chief Performance Officer at ThreatLocker, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss how their Zero Trust Endpoint Protection Platform can start to help you attain Zero Trust from your endpoints by: Blocking Untrusted Software, Ringfencing™ Applications, and Dynamically Controlling Network Traffic This segment is sponsored by ThreatLocker. Visit https://securityweekly.com/threatlocker to learn more about them! In the leadership and communications segment, Underfunding And Leadership Gaps Weaken Cybersecurity Defenses, A Self-Care Checklist for Leaders, Senate bill eyes minimum cybersecurity standards for health care industry, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-366

In the leadership and communications segment, CISA Releases Cyber Defense Alignment Plan for Federal Agencies, UnitedHealth Group CISO: We had to ‘start over’ after Change Healthcare attack, 20 Essential Strategies for Leadership Development Success, and more! AI is bringing productivity gains like we’ve never seen before -- with users, security teams and developers already reaping the benefits. However, AI is also bolstering existing threats to application security and user identity -- even enabling new, personalized attacks to emerge. Shiven Ramji, President of Customer Identity at Okta, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss how AI is changing app authentication and authorization for developers and security teams. With traditional and AI-powered applications facing more complex security challenges, companies need to explore new ways to protect their end users while also creating seamless customer experiences – and that starts with Identity. Segment Resources: https://developerday.com/ https://www.okta.com/customer-identity/ This segment is sponsored by Okta. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/okta to learn more about them! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-365

Cybersecurity is complex. We have threats, vulnerabilities, incidents, controls, risks, etc. But how do they all connect together to drive a cyber risk program? As an industry, we've struggled for 20+ years trying to boil this ocean. Maybe we've been going about it the wrong way. Padraic O'Reilly, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer at CyberSaint, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss how AI can help us solve the cybersecurity data problem. Starting with simple mappings from risks to controls, CyberSaint is flipping the cyber risk management problem on it's head. Instead of working from the bottom up, CyberSaint is tackling the problem from the top down. Padraic will discuss how CyberSaint is using AI, practical AI, to address the complexities of cybersecurity data, including: the use of Watsonx to generate their new KnightVision report how to use graphical node networks to model cybersecurity data the future of AI models to prioritize recommendations from all the data This segment is sponsored by CyberSaint . Visit https://securityweekly.com/cybersaint to learn more about them! In the leadership and communications segment, Why Companies Should Consolidate Tech Roles in the C-Suite, End of an era: Security budget growth slows down, Global cybersecurity workforce growth flatlines, stalling at 5.5M pros, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-364

Cybersecurity resilience, different from cyber resilience, is critical as threats grow in frequency and complexity. With digital innovation driving business, cybersecurity resilience is essential for maintaining stakeholder trust and compliance. But where do you start? Theresa Lanowitz, Chief Evangelist at LevelBlue, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss how to align cybersecurity and the business, including the need to: fundamentally shift you mindset and approach to acheiving operational excellence in cybersecurity prioritize IT and building security into everything you do prioritize proactive investment over funding emergencies leverage external expertise for success This segment is sponsored by LevelBlue. Visit https://securityweekly.com/levelblue to learn more about them! In the leadership and communications segment, Blind Spots in the C-Suite & Boardroom, Evolving Cybersecurity: Aligning Strategy with Business Growth, How to Lead Like a Coach, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-363

Check out this episode from the BSW Vault, hand picked by main host Matt Alderman! This episode was initially published on November 29, 2022. Todd Fitzgerald, author of CISO Compass and host of CISO Stories, joins BSW to share his top leadership lessons from the first 100 episodes of CISO Stories. Todd interviews CISOs and gains insights into their challenges and how they are solving them. Don't miss this recap! View CISO Stories podcast episodes here: https://www.scmagazine.com/podcast-show/the-ciso-stories-podcast Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/vault-bsw-13

How are personal liability and indemnification impacting the CISO role? Darren Shou, Chief Strategy Officer from RSA Conference, describes the current landscape of CISO liability and the challenges facing CISOs today. He discusses the implications of the SEC's recent actions, including the charges against SolarWinds' CISO, and the growing trend of personal liability for security leaders. Darren will also highlight comparisons between the roles of CISOs and CFOs, highlighting what security professionals can learn from their financial counterparts in handling risks and responsibilities. Finally, he explores how to build an effective coalition, both internally with company executives and externally with peers. In this ever changing risk landscape, it takes a village, and Darren shares his vision for how to build that village. This week we talk a lot about the CISO's relationship with the business and the challenges of being aligned and keeping up. We also talk about budget priorities, the challenge of doing security in small businesses, and the ever-present challenge of burnout. Finally, we discuss what servant leadership actually means. On this last topic, Ben makes a book recommendation, which you can find here: https://www.amazon.com/Seat-Table-Leadership-Age-Agility/dp/1942788118 Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-362

What are the barriers to cyber resilience today? Why is it so difficult? And what is coming next, that will generate resilience challenges further down the line? After five years of focusing on the short- and medium-term future of cybersecurity and edge, this year, LevelBlue wanted to understand what is preventing cyber resilience—and what business leaders are doing about it. Theresa Lanowitz, Chief Evangelist at LevelBlue, joins us to discuss the results of their research. Segment Resources: LevelBlue.com/futuresreport This segment is sponsored by LevelBlue. Visit https://securityweekly.com/levelblue to learn more about them! While CISOs are often responsible for technology implementation, they are not getting the support they need at a strategic level. The Accelerator found that 73% of CISOs expressed concern over cybersecurity becoming unwieldy, requiring risk-laden tradeoffs, compared to only 58% of both CIOs and CTOs. Understanding the C-suite’s business priorities is critical for shaping effective cybersecurity strategies. Identifying how these essential roles look at the business helps to ensure alignment among CIOs, CTOs, and CISOs, as well as the teams that report into them. It’s a key first step towards bolstering cyber defenses, especially with the CEO and Board support. This segment is sponsored by LevelBlue. Visit https://securityweekly.com/levelbluebh to learn more about cyber resilience and how to start the conversation in your organization! Employees spend up to 80% of their working hours in a web browser, and threat actors are increasingly leveraging browsers to target users and initiate attacks. Disrupting the tool employees use for 80% of their job would have massive impact on productivity. Rather than ripping and replacing, enterprises can turn any browser into a secure enterprise browser. Segment Resources: Menlo homepage: https://resources.menlosecurity.com/videos/browser-security Menlo research on three new nation state campaigns: https://www.menlosecurity.com/press-releases/menlo-security-exposes-three-new-nation-state-campaigns Every browser should be a secure enterprise browser: https://www.menlosecurity.com/blog/every-browser-should-be-a-secure-enterprise-browser Defending against zero-hour phishing attacks: https://www.menlosecurity.com/blog/state-of-browser-security-defending-browsers-against-ever-evolving-zero-hour-phishing-attacks This segment is sponsored by Menlo Security. Visit https://securityweekly.com/menlobh or schedule a demo to learn more about the role of browser security in eliminating the risk of highly evasive threats! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-361

This week, it’s time for security money, our quarterly review of the money of security, including public companies, IPOs, funding rounds and acquisitions from the previous quarter. This quarter, Crowdstrike crashes the index, as Thoma Bravo acquires another index company. The index is currently made up of the following 25 pure play cybersecurity public companies: Secureworks Corp Palo Alto Networks Inc Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Rubrik Inc Gen Digital Inc Fortinet Inc Akamai Technologies, Inc. F5 Inc Zscaler Inc Onespan Inc Leidos Holdings Inc Qualys Inc Verint Systems Inc. Cyberark Software Ltd Tenable Holdings Inc Darktrace PLC SentinelOne Inc Cloudflare Inc Crowdstrike Holdings Inc NetScout Systems, Inc. Varonis Systems Inc Rapid7 Inc Fastly Inc Radware Ltd A10 Networks Inc In the leadership and communications segment, The Cybersecurity Leadership Crisis Dooming America’s Companies, Judge Rejects SEC’s Aggressive Approach to Cybersecurity Enforcement, Is It Time to Pivot Your Strategy?, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-360

Inspired by my co-host Jason Albuquerque, this quarter's Say Easy, Do Hard segment is Job Search Strategies for CISOs. In part 1, we discuss the challenges facing the CISO role and it's hiring. As CISOs leave the role, the position is not necessarily being refilled. How will this impact future CISO hiring? Inspired by my co-host Jason Albuquerque, this quarter's Say Easy, Do Hard segment is Job Search Strategies for CISOs. In part 2, Jason proposes we blow it all up, while Ben recommends a certification board for CISOs. We have no shortage of suggestions for how to fix the CISO hiring problem. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-359

Identity, the security threat that keeps on giving. For the 17th year in a row, identity is one of the top threats identified in the Verizon DBIR. Why? Dor Fledel, Senior Director of Product Management at Okta and Co-Founder of Spera, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss the challenges of identity and how to solve them. From numerous disparate identity systems to a proliferation is SaaS application usage, Dor explains why Identity SecurityPosture Management is critical component to identify vulnerabilities, prioritize risks, and streamline remediation. If you're struggling with securing your identities, don't miss this interview. Segment Resources: https://www.okta.com/products/identity-security-posture-management/ https://www.okta.com/secure-identity-commitment/ This segment is sponsored by Okta. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/okta to learn more about them! The CISO role has been evolving for 20 years, but the last 2 years have accelerated that evolution. Some might say it's evolving into extinction. What are the factors driving this evolution? Allan Alford, CEO at Alford and Adams Consulting and host of The Cyber Ranch Podcast, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss this evolution and some of the factors driving these trends. In this interview, Allan will share his insights: Migratory Trends of the CISO CISO Skill Sets: Technical or Business? The Language of the CISO Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-358

Back in April, we covered a story on episode #348 titled "CISO-CEO communication gaps continue to undermine cybersecurity". In that article, Sumedh Thakar, the CEO at Qualys, stated "CISOs must translate technical risks into business impact for CEOs." But he didn't say how. So, we invited him on the show to explain. In this episode, Sumedh walks us through real life interactions with his CISO and Board and explains why security needs to be communicated in business terms. Security is a risk management discipline. No one understand that more than Jeff Recor. Jeff has built risk management practices for Deloitte, Grant Thornton, and Accenture and has recently formed his own risk consulting practice. In this unscripted interview, Jeff will share his insights on the evolution of security as a risk management discipline, what CEOs and Boards really need, and how CISOs can be successful as a business leader. Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-357

Cyber insurance underwriting is all over the map. With such a variation in application requirements, how should small and medium businesses prepare to receive the best policy for the price? Brian Fritton joins Business Security Weekly to discuss a systematic approach to preparing for cyber insurance. By working with the underwriters, this approach provides implementation guidance on the controls required to maximize your coverage, including premium discounts, higher ransomware supplements, and a reduction is deductibles. If you're struggling with cyber insurance, don't miss this interview. In the leadership and communications section, The Board’s understanding of cybersecurity, What does your CEO need to know about cybersecurity?, As CISOs grapple with the C-suite, job satisfaction takes a hit, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-356

On average, CISOs manage 50-75 security products. Many of these products have either not been deployed or only partially deployed, while others overlap of products. How do CISOs effectively consolidate their products to a manageable size? Max Shier, Chief Information Security Officer at Optiv Security, joins Business Security Weekly to discuss technology rationalization within cybersecurity. Max will discuss how to inventory your security products, identify overlap, and pick the right products for your organization. In the leadership and communications section, Bringing the boardroom to the cyber battlefield, Navigating the CISO Role: Common Pitfalls for New Leaders, Ask Better Questions to be a Better Leader, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/bsw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/bsw-355