A CISO is the ultimate guardian of an organization's digital assets. As a cybersecurity leader ,a CISO must possess a unique balance of executive leadership, technical knowledge, strategic vision, and effective communication skills. The ever-evolving cyberthreat landscape demands a resilient, proactive approach coupled with a keen ability to anticipate attack angles and implement protective security mechanisms. Simultaneously, a cybersecurity leader must navigate the complexities of balancing security requirements with business objectives, fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness, and ensuring compliance with regulatory frameworks. The CISO Playbook aims to provide nothing but real-world advice and perspectives to both up-and-coming cybersecurity leaders as well as existing ones looking to grow. The book does not approach cybersecurity leadership from the perspective of the academic, or what it should be, but more from that which it really is. Moreover, it focuses on the many things a cybersecurity leader needs to “be” given that the role is dynamic and ever-evolving, requiring a high level of adaptability. A CISO's career is touched from many differing angles, by many different people and roles. A healthy selection of these entities, from executive recruiters to salespeople to venture capitalists, is included to provide real-world value to the reader. To augment these, the book covers many areas that a cybersecurity leader needs to understand, from the pre-interview stage to the first quarter and from security operations to the softer skills such as storytelling and communications. The book wraps up with a focus on techniques and knowledge areas, such as financial literacy, that are essential for a CISO to be effective. Other important areas, such as understanding the adversaries' mindset and self-preservation, are covered as well. A credo is provided as an example of the documented commitment a cybersecurity leader must make and remain true to.

This 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. Regardless of your role in Tech, you will find something of value somewhere along the way in this book.

The real-world guide to defeating hackers and keeping your business secure Many books discuss the technical underpinnings and complex configurations necessary for cybersecurity—but they fail to address the everyday steps that boards, managers, and employees can take to prevent attacks. The Cybersecurity Playbook is the step-by-step guide to protecting your organization from unknown threats and integrating good security habits into everyday business situations. This book provides clear guidance on how to identify weaknesses, assess possible threats, and implement effective policies. Recognizing that an organization’s security is only as strong as its weakest link, this book offers specific strategies for employees at every level. Drawing from her experience as CMO of one of the world’s largest cybersecurity companies, author Allison Cerra incorporates straightforward assessments, adaptable action plans, and many current examples to provide practical recommendations for cybersecurity policies. By demystifying cybersecurity and applying the central concepts to real-world business scenarios, this book will help you: Deploy cybersecurity measures using easy-to-follow methods and proven techniques Develop a practical security plan tailor-made for your specific needs Incorporate vital security practices into your everyday workflow quickly and efficiently The ever-increasing connectivity of modern organizations, and their heavy use of cloud-based solutions present unique challenges: data breaches, malicious software infections, and cyberattacks have become commonplace and costly to organizations worldwide. The Cybersecurity Playbook is the invaluable guide to identifying security gaps, getting buy-in from the top, promoting effective daily security routines, and safeguarding vital resources. Strong cybersecurity is no longer the sole responsibility of IT departments, but that of every executive, manager, and employee.

This contemporary strategy book provides practical guidance to enable private and public sector develop high-impact and cost-effective cyber resilience strategies

Caught in the crosshairs ofLeadership andInformation Technology Information Security professionals are increasingly tapped to operate as business executives. This often puts them on a career path they did not expect, in a field not yet clearly defined. IT training does not usually includemanagerial skills such as leadership, team-building, c

Any good attacker will tell you that expensive security monitoring and prevention tools aren’t enough to keep you secure. This practical book demonstrates a data-centric approach to distilling complex security monitoring, incident response, and threat analysis ideas into their most basic elements. You’ll learn how to develop your own threat intelligence and incident detection strategy, rather than depend on security tools alone. Written by members of Cisco’s Computer Security Incident Response Team, this book shows IT and information security professionals how to create an InfoSec playbook by developing strategy, technique, and architecture. Learn incident response fundamentals—and the importance of getting back to basics Understand threats you face and what you should be protecting Collect, mine, organize, and analyze as many relevant data sources as possible Build your own playbook of repeatable methods for security monitoring and response Learn how to put your plan into action and keep it running smoothly Select the right monitoring and detection tools for your environment Develop queries to help you sort through data and create valuable reports Know what actions to take during the incident response phase

The primary goal of the Information Protection Playbook is to serve as a comprehensive resource for information protection (IP) professionals who must provide adequate information security at a reasonable cost. It emphasizes a holistic view of IP: one that protects the applications, systems, and networks that deliver business information from failures of confidentiality, integrity, availability, trust and accountability, and privacy. Using the guidelines provided in the Information Protection Playbook, security and information technology (IT) managers will learn how to implement the five functions of an IP framework: governance, program planning, risk management, incident response management, and program administration. These functions are based on a model promoted by the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA) and validated by thousands of Certified Information Security Managers. The five functions are further broken down into a series of objectives or milestones to be achieved in order to implement an IP framework. The extensive appendices included at the end of the book make for an excellent resource for the security or IT manager building an IP program from the ground up. They include, for example, a board of directors presentation complete with sample slides; an IP policy document checklist; a risk prioritization procedure matrix, which illustrates how to classify a threat based on a scale of high, medium, and low; a facility management self-assessment questionnaire; and a list of representative job descriptions for roles in IP. The Information Protection Playbook is a part of Elsevier's Security Executive Council Risk Management Portfolio, a collection of real world solutions and "how-to" guidelines that equip executives, practitioners, and educators with proven information for successful security and risk management programs. - Emphasizes information protection guidelines that are driven by business objectives, laws, regulations, and industry standards - Draws from successful practices in global organizations, benchmarking, advice from a variety of subject-matter experts, and feedback from the organizations involved with the Security Executive Council - Includes 11 appendices full of the sample checklists, matrices, and forms that are discussed in the book