The CISO Evolution: Business Knowledge for Cybersecurity Executives - Hardcover

Sharp, Matthew K.; Lambros, Kyriakos

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1119782481 ISBN 13: 9781119782483

Publisher: Wiley, 2022

Synopsis

Learn to effectively deliver business aligned cybersecurity outcomes  

In The CISO Evolution: Business Knowledge for Cybersecurity Executives, information security experts Matthew K. Sharp and Kyriakos “Rock” Lambros deliver an insightful and practical resource to help cybersecurity professionals develop the skills they need to effectively communicate with senior management and boards. They assert business aligned cybersecurity is crucial and demonstrate how business acumen is being put into action to deliver meaningful business outcomes. 

The authors use illustrative stories to show professionals how to establish an executive presence and avoid the most common pitfalls experienced by technology experts when speaking and presenting to executives. The book will show you how to: 

• Inspire trust in senior business leaders by properly aligning and setting expectations around risk appetite and capital allocation 
• Properly characterize the indispensable role of cybersecurity in your company’s overall strategic plan 
• Acquire the necessary funding and resources for your company’s cybersecurity program and avoid the stress and anxiety that comes with underfunding 

Perfect for security and risk professionals, IT auditors, and risk managers looking for effective strategies to communicate cybersecurity concepts and ideas to business professionals without a background in technology.  The CISO Evolution is also a must-read resource for business executives, managers, and leaders hoping to improve the quality of dialogue with their cybersecurity leaders. 

About this title

About the Author

MATTHEW K. SHARP is Chief Information Security Officer of Logicworks. He is responsible for security governance, risk management, strategy, and architecture in a business that provides comprehensive cloud services to help customers successfully onboard and operate complex and compliant workloads on the AWS and Azure public clouds.

KYRIAKOS “ROCK” LAMBROS is CEO and Founder of RockCyber, a cybersecurity strategy consulting firm focused on helping firms align cybersecurity to their enterprise business goals. He has extensive experience building security programs and overseeing security architecture, operations, threat intelligence, governance, and risk management.

From the Back Cover

Praise for THE CISO EVOLUTION

“As the former CISO of a Fortune 10 company, and later helping take a startup to Unicorn status, I can say this is a must-read for anyone in cybersecurity. The content is refreshing and applicable from the SOC analyst to the seasoned cybersecurity leadership team. We all need to understand how our work connects to business value. The prescriptive approach and techniques revealed in the detailed MBA-style case studies offer insights that you will not find in any other cybersecurity book that exists. Congrats to Matt and Rock for helping bond cybersecurity to business in a more intimate way than ever before! Go buy this book.”

―Malcolm Harkins, Chief Security and Trust Officer, Epiphany Systems; former CISO, Intel and Cylance

“If you are a CISO or someone working to become one, and want to uplevel your executive communications skills and truly gain insights into running security risks like business, read this book. This is the first book that gives true examples that can help you actually see what others only talk about at the high level. Matt and Rock have done a great job sharing the intimate stories that have helped shape their great careers.”

Dave Hannigan, Director, Product Security Assurance, Google Cloud

“This is a book that our industry has needed for a long time. Security skills and a fundamental understanding of modern technology is important. One could argue that for a CISO, it’s equally important ― perhaps even more important ― to understand how the business runs. To protect the value created by an organization, we must understand how that value is created in the first place. Thank you Matthew and Rock. Every security leader can benefit by reading this book.”

―Caroline Wong, Chief Strategy Officer, Cobalt.io

“Transitioning from cybersecurity operator to investor and board member has reinforced for me that success in the CISO role is only available to those that can blend technical expertise, with business savvy. The CISO Evolution provides a timeless reference that combines predictive theories with compelling personal stories to convey a direct path to success. Those that skip this manuscript do so at their own peril. The competitive advantage this book provides makes it intellectual bedrock for future generations of cybersecurity leadership.”

Jay Leek, Managing Partner and Co-founder of SYN Ventures, Board Director and former CISO

“One of the biggest blind spots for many CISOs today is understanding security’s role in the broader business framework of their company. Matt Sharp and Rock Lambros are experienced CISOs who walk the walk and have laid out very clearly how CISOs can become more influential in their company by understanding the fundamental executive leadership skills necessary for success. This book should have a place on every CISO’s bookshelf.”

―Mark Weatherford, Chief Security Officer at the National Cybersecurity Center and former Deputy Undersecretary for Cybersecurity at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

“The array of technical disciplines in security make it endlessly complex. This reality can be overwhelming for the new CISO, taking focus away from the business and its pursuit of opportunity. The CISO Evolution aims to solve that. It’s the mini-MBA we all need ― but likely never had. I am honored to endorse Matt and Rock’s goals for the new (and not so new) CISO. They aim to give CISOs the tools we need so we can rightly take a seat at the executive (business) table.”

―Richard Seiersen, CISO; author of The Metrics Manifesto and How To Measure Anything In Cybersecurity Risk

From the Inside Flap

More than ever before, companies of all sizes and in all industries have been forced to recognize cybersecurity as a critical business issue. Recent high-profile ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity events have thrown into sharp relief the unpreparedness and vulnerability of many sophisticated organizations.

In The CISO Evolution: Business Knowledge for Cybersecurity Executives, distinguished information security professionals Matthew K. Sharp and Kyriakos “Rock” Lambros deliver curated insights for Chief Information Security Officers and other cybersecurity professionals to develop their business acumen, communication, and leadership skills.

In the book, readers will learn how to establish an executive presence and provide critical messages to senior leadership in a language they will understand and in a way that secures the engagement and interest of corporate boards.

The CISO Evolution uses illustrative stories to show cybersecurity professionals how to present to executives and how to avoid the most common pitfalls experienced by information technology people when speaking to non-technical business people. It shows IT professionals how to inspire trust in senior business leaders by properly aligning and setting expectations around risk appetite and capital allocation.

CISOs―and personnel with related roles―will learn to properly characterize the indispensable role of cybersecurity in a company’s overall strategic plan and find out how to acquire the funding and deploy scarce resources to enable and protect their company’s value creation engines.

The CISO Evolution: Business Knowledge for Cybersecurity Executives is an invaluable resource for technology professionals seeking to better communicate cybersecurity concepts and ideas to business people who lack a background or education in technology. It’s also required reading for business executives and leaders seeking to improve the quality of dialog with cybersecurity professionals.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2022
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1119782481
• ISBN 13: 9781119782483
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 416