Cybersecurity Leadership and Governance

Microsoft just admitted the CISO role is “no longer humanly possible.” And they’re right. I’ve watched security leaders wrestle with this reality for years. The burnout is real. The scope creep is relentless. The anxiety is palpable. This isn’t just a reorg — it’s a reckoning with how complex enterprise security has become. Microsoft has effectively dismantled the traditional CISO role, dividing it into 14 specialized Deputy CISOs (dCISOs) — each owning a specific domain. Why? Because the modern CISO job has expanded into a multidisciplinary ecosystem no single person can sustain. Think about it: Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) Product and Platform Security Engineering Integration & DevSecOps AI and Data Strategy Global Operations & Executive Alignment Crisis Management That’s not one role — that’s a cabinet of experts. Large banks have long used Business Information Security Officers (BISOs) to align security with business units. Microsoft’s dCISO model is a natural evolution — a distributed leadership framework built for the speed and complexity of the cloud era. The message to every enterprise security leader is clear: * Stop expecting one person to master every domain of cybersecurity. * Start building distributed, specialized leadership models aligned to your business and product areas. The alternative? Burnout, blind spots, and ballooning risk exposure. The future of enterprise security leadership is distributed. Microsoft just made it official. How is your organization adapting? What would your specialized domains look like?

95% of people think the highest-paid security engineers spend most of their time writing detection rules, patching vulnerabilities, or fixing CVEs. But if you really watch how the best operate, you’ll notice something else. Here’s what top security engineers actually spend most of their time on: → Reading architecture docs, cloud configs, and infra PRs with paranoia-level attention → Asking the “stupid” questions everyone skips, surfacing risks others overlook → Sitting with DevOps, product, and compliance teams, not just to enforce, but to understand why things work the way they do → Thinking through “what could go wrong?” scenarios, before a single threat model is formalised I’ve done security and DevOps for a fair few years now, and I see this play out over and over: There are days when my entire afternoon is spent whiteboarding how a misconfigured role in Kubernetes could become a pivot point for an attacker, or how a seemingly harmless change might ripple across dozens of microservices. And when standup comes the next day, you’ll hear: “I didn’t write new detection logic yesterday; I was tracing how lateral movement could happen if IAM boundaries aren’t enforced.” The best security engineers do what helps the company stay safe. Sometimes, that’s patching or automating. But more often, it’s connecting dots, preempting the blast radius, and asking the uncomfortable questions before a breach ever becomes news. It might not look productive from the outside. But it’s what actually prevents headlines, incidents, and sleepless nights for everyone. That’s what sets great security engineers apart. Don’t wait to catch threats, see them before anyone else does. Follow saed ‎for more & subscribe to the newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eD7hgbnk

When I started as a SOC Analyst, I thought the job was all about me, my SIEM, and my alerts. But I quickly realized: Even the best detection is useless if no one understands what I’m saying. If the IT team doesn’t get my request, they won’t isolate the machine. If leadership doesn’t understand the risk, they won’t support action. If developers don’t see the threat, they’ll push vulnerable code again. Here’s how I started building better communication skills — and how it changed everything: 1. Translate Technical to Practical Instead of: “We detected TTPs consistent with MITRE ATT&CK T1059 via base64-encoded PowerShell.” I now say: “We found someone trying to run malicious PowerShell on a user machine. It could lead to ransomware. We blocked it.” Simple. Clear. No jargon. 2. Listen Before You Send I used to send long, technical emails — assuming the other team would read and respond. Now, I ask: “What does the IT team care about?” (Steps to fix) “What does management care about?” (Business risk, cost) Tailoring your message is respect. 3. Speak Their Language For IT: Use system names, impact, urgency For Leadership: Talk risk, reputation, compliance For DevOps: Focus on secure coding and CI/CD integration 4. Document Your Ask Clearly I learned to write tickets or emails like this: What happened What I need from them Deadline or urgency Contact if they have questions This clarity saves time — and builds trust. Final Thought: You don’t just need to detect threats — you need to communicate them. The more clearly you speak, the faster your organization can act. Cybersecurity is a team sport. Communication is your bridge. How do you make sure your messages land across teams? #CyberSecurity #SOCAnalyst #SoftSkills #CrossTeamCommunication #BlueTeam #InfoSec #IncidentResponse #Leadership #DevSecOps #SOCLife #SecurityAwareness #CyberCareers #SpeakToLead

"Why aren’t your ideas getting approved?”😭😭😭🙌🙌🙌 When I took on my first director role at the age of 26 I was certain I was smart, prepared, and performance-driven. I brought bold, thoughtful proposals into the boardroom. And..then....... silence.😭😭😭 Or polite deferrals. Or “let’s revisit this next quarter.” I thought results would speak for themselves. They didn’t. It wasn’t until my coach said: “You’re playing chess, but you’re only looking at the board not the players.”😭😭😭😭😭 That’s when I learned: Organizational politics isnt dirty . It’s reality. And ignoring it doesn’t make you principled it makes you ineffective. I learnt then that being Politically Savvy is actually a leaderboard Competency for C- Suite leaders. Here are 10 aspects of organizational politics that I have learnt over my 22 years of working that no leader can afford to ignore : 1. Informal Power Brokers Some of the most influential people don’t have big titles. They have trust, access, and networks. Find them. 2. Gatekeepers Every room has people who control the flow of ideas and people. If you don't have them onside, you're not getting through. 3. Timing & Influence Even brilliant proposals fail when they land at the wrong time or haven’t been seeded properly behind the scenes. 4. Don’t Surprise the Boardroom If your idea is being heard for the first time in the meeting, it’s already in trouble. Pre-socialize. Test reactions. Secure allies.People won't attack your ideas if you have them a chance to add their thoughts beforehand. 5. Hidden Agendas Everyone has priorities. Some are declared, some aren’t. Don’t be naive—figure out what really drives each stakeholder. 6. Alliances & Coalitions You can't drive change alone no matter how smart you are . Have people who are willing to go to bat for your idea when you're not in the room 7 .Narrative Control You may have the numbers, but do you have the story?🥹🥹 Decisions are made based on stories people can believe in. 8. Loyalty & Trust Boardroom influence is built outside the boardroom. Over coffee, in quiet crises, through shared wins. Relationships matter. 9. Change Resistance Is Political, Not Logical Silence, delays, and vague pushback? That’s not confusion it’s calculated resistance. Learn to see it for what it is. Politics doesn’t mean playing dirty. It means playing smart with integrity. It took me a while to embrace that. But once I did, everything changed: My ideas got traction. My confidence grew. And I finally understood how to lead not just with intention but with influence. To any leader especially women—feeling stuck at the table: You don’t need to change who you are. But you do need to understand the game you’re playing. If you are not navigating the politics the politics is navigating you . Winfield Strategy & Innovation #Leadership #OrganizationalPolitics #WomenInLeadership #ExecutivePresence #PowerAndInfluence #strategy

This week, several Sophos employees received WhatsApp messages and emails claiming to be from me. Thankfully, their training and instincts kicked in, and they reported them. In response, I emailed everyone on the Sophos team to raise their awareness of the recent impersonation attempts and remind them how to complement technological controls in defending against social engineering attacks like these. CEO fraud isn't new. But it's getting more convincing. This comes at a time when threat groups like Scattered Spider and Shiny Hunters (tracked by CTU as GOLD HARVEST: https://lnkd.in/g82Bs4Su) are becoming increasingly adept at using AI and other novel social engineering attacks to gain access to otherwise well-defended organizations. The tactic is usually the same: reach someone outside of corporate IT systems, create urgency, impersonate a senior executive, IT, or other variants of authority, and push for action (e.g. “I need gift cards now for this partner event”). A few reminders we shared with our team, useful for the broader public: 1️⃣ Be skeptical of unexpected messages from colleagues via WhatsApp, Signal, SMS, LinkedIn, etc. 2️⃣ Always redirect to a verified internal channel: Teams, Outlook, Slack, etc.  3️⃣ Don’t engage. Report it through proper internal channels And for leaders, no matter the size of your organization: ✔️ Raise awareness of these tactics across your teams so they know when - and when not - to trust messages from their leaders and colleagues ✔️ Make it easy for them to report or verify those attempts ✔️ Establish formal and robust financial processes for fund transfers ✔️ Avoid corporate behaviors that enable this type of fraud (e.g. pressuring employees to conduct any business outside of clearly approved tools and processes) Stay safe!

The recent regulatory guidelines, viz RBI Master Directions of Nov 2023 and SEBI Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework (CSCRF) of Aug 2024 lay added importance to cyber resilience, business continuity and disaster recovery, incident response and recovery from cyber incidents. Boards are being increasingly attentive and seeking deeper insights on the organizations' preparedness to respond to and recover from cyber incidents. Being part of the Boards of regulated entities, I saw this quarter's IT Strategy and Technology Committee meetings, as well as the Board meetings delve deep and enquiring with the security and technology leadership and sometimes, directly from the MD/CEO, on : 1. Cyber incidents reported, their impact and root-cause assessments. Note : for the organizations, these were mostly hits or false positives. 2. Resilience scores, with Q-o-Q and Y-o-Y comparatives 3. Business Continuity Drills and results 4. Disaster Recovery exercises and results 5. Health check report on the primary as well as the recovery sites, including cloud DR assessments 6. Cyber / technology risk assessments 7. Compliance and reporting (technology) 8. Ongoing governance and improvement around the Cyber Crisis Management Plan (or similar plan, by whatever nomenclature it's defined) 9. Adequacy of technology & security resourcing and training 10. Data protection, with special emphasis on vendor / third party access to critical data & resources and controls around the same The above were some of the top discussion points, but not the only ones. As Boards are made more and more involved and responsible over governance of the organizations' cyber security, resilience, technology governance and risk assurance, Board members will engage more regularly on discussions about cyber risks, inquire of the management their capacity-capability-readiness to respond to and recover effectively from cyber incidents. And above all, the Board would like to ensure compliance to all the relevant regulatory provisions, including on technology and #cybersecurity. To all Technology and Security leaders - the message is very clear, the regulators and the Boards would like to see much more than mere tick mark exercise, specially if you're a regulated entity. - read through each clause in the directions & circulars from regulators - assess thoroughly your current status, including process, operations, technology architecture, procedures, documentation et all - perform risk assessment - technology and operations, over each part of your business - conduct data flow analysis, ascertain your data protection strategy - analyze your third party / vendor connections at all business touchpoints Once you analyze your current state, compare with the requirements given by regulatory directions. Then, step-by-step, put in the measures, updates, upgrades. These are critical steps and require expert acumen - take help from external experts, as required. #technologygovernance

Habits that will actually make you a better CISO... Start talking to CxOs. Not just in your business. Any business. Find mentors. Have lunch. Ask awkward questions. Do it when there's no incident and nothing burning. Then shut up and listen. That’s where the real lessons live. Here’s what I’ve learned: Talk to a CFO Ask: “How do you think about financial risk and volatility?” Understand how they view cost, uncertainty, and accountability. It will change how you position your entire budget. Talk to a COO Ask: “What keeps operations up at night?” Learn where resilience really matters, and where delays aren’t tolerated. You’ll stop protecting things no one cares about, and start safeguarding what really keeps the business running. Talk to a CMO Ask: “What’s the cost of losing customer trust?” Understand how brand and reputation work in their world. You'll learn to frame incidents in reputational risk terms. Not just security metrics. Talk to a CHRO Ask: “How do we equip people to make smart security decisions?” You’ll stop seeing employees as a risk vector, and start seeing them as the control layer they actually are. Talk to a CRO Ask: “How do we measure risk across the enterprise?” It’s a masterclass in prioritisation, and you’ll start speaking the language of enterprise risk, not just cyber exposure. Talk to a CEO Ask nothing at first. Just listen. Listen for how they talk about growth, customers, markets, and ambition. Because that’s the language your strategy needs to speak. None of this came from a certification. It came from showing curiosity about the business. Security doesn't become strategic until you do. #CISO #Cybersecurity #leadership

What should cybersecurity leaders really be focused on right now? Over the past few weeks, the global landscape has been a powerful reminder that cyber risk moves alongside geopolitical tension, uncertainty, and real-world disruption. That’s why this recent Risky Business Media podcast featuring Brad Arkin titled “Being a Wartime CISO” is well worth the listen. In many ways, it reflects the reality leaders are operating in today. Brad does something that’s not always easy in our industry: he cuts through complexity and brings the conversation back to what truly matters: outcomes. A few practical insights that stood out: 1️⃣ Focus on operational resilience, not perfection. The goal isn’t to eliminate every risk, but to ensure the business can continue to function under pressure. 2️⃣ Prioritize what truly matters. Not every system is equal. Leaders need clarity on which assets are mission-critical and require the highest level of protection and recovery readiness. 3️⃣ Plan for disruption as a certainty. The question isn’t if something will happen, but how prepared you are to respond while keeping people safe and operations running. That framing is especially relevant as we continue to share intelligence on Iranian cyber activity and what we’re seeing across the threat landscape. Our Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 research reinforces that preparation is operational. For CISOs and executives, the question is are we ready to operate through disruption? Brad captures that mindset exceptionally well, and it’s exactly where leadership focus needs to be right now. https://lnkd.in/ga57ZuPY

Not all cyber threats are equal…. It is crucial for the Board & CXOs to ensure that investments in security are aligned with the organization's risk profile. This requires regular risk assessments & aligning the cyber security strategy with the organization's business goals. Simply put, far too many boards & CEOs see cybersecurity as a set of technical initiatives & edicts that are the domain of CIO, CISO, & other technical practitioners. In doing so, they overlook the perils of corporate complexity & the power of simplicity when it comes to cyber risk. In fact leaders who are serious about cybersecurity, need to translate simplicity & complexity reduction into business priorities that enter into the strategic dialogue of the board, the CEO, & the rest of the C-suite. Questions such as the following can help catalyze this conversation: • How does a full accounting of cyber risk affect our business model’s attractiveness, & does that suggest the need for a “simplification agenda”? • How transparent are the cyber risks and trade-offs associated with our external digital partnerships, & what would be the pros & cons of simplifying our ecosystem to make them more manageable? • How risky are our IT-enabled legacy processes, and how should we prioritize investments to secure, simplify, & transform them to achieve competitive advantage? Leadership teams which grapple with questions like these and embrace simplicity boost their odds of making the entire enterprise securable. Breakneck digitization in the smartphone era has exacerbated matters, as companies have increasingly created ecosystems with a variety of new partners to help expand their reach and capture new, profitable growth. They range from supply chain relationships across goods & services to partnerships for data, distribution, marketing, & innovation. Even more recently, the business challenges of COVID-19 pandemic have spurred faster adoption of digital solutions that rely on data, digital networks and devices that are often operated by companies outside the organization’s borders. Leaders seeking to strike a better balance can start with some basic principles. One is ensuring that strategic moves won’t increase complexity risk & make the current situation worse. Another is understanding that simplification of company, may require more than minor rewiring of systems, & instead may demand more fundamental & often longer-term modification to IT structures, to make them fit for growth. The challenges & opportunities fall into 3 areas. 1. Business models 2. External Partners 3. Internal Systems Reducing complexity while establishing a framework for governance & shared responsibility demands deliberate action, over the long & the short term. It also demands attention & energy of the CEOs & the boards who understand its value and are ready to invest in changing mindsets. Leaders who are ready to step up and set the tone will create a better blueprint for a securable enterprise.

CISO spent 3 hours preparing a technical security update for the board CEO stopped CISO after 2 slides Nobody understands what you're saying Best career lesson I ever learned. CISO original presentation: → Slide 1: Zero Trust Architecture Implementation → Slide 2: SIEM Log Correlation Improvements → Slide 3: Vulnerability Remediation Metrics → Slide 4: Threat Intelligence Integration Board member (2 minutes in):  What does any of this mean? CISO: Realizes I'm speaking a foreign language CEO pulled me aside: CEO: They don't need technical details. They need business context CISO: But these are important security improvements... CEO: Then translate them into business outcomes What I learned: Board doesn't care about: → Technical implementations → Security frameworks → Tool names → Acronyms Board cares about: → Business risk → Financial impact → Competitive advantage → Regulatory compliance → Customer trust My revised presentation: Old slide: "Implemented Zero Trust Architecture" New slide: "Reduced breach risk 60%, enabling $12M in enterprise deals that require advanced security Old slide: "Upgraded SIEM capabilities New slide: "Cut incident detection time from 4 days to 4 hours, minimizing potential damage Old slide: "Remediated 847 critical vulnerabilities New slide: "Closed security gaps that could have resulted in $5M regulatory fines The response: Board member: "Now I understand the value. What do you need?" First time I got that question. The formula I use now: 1. Start with business context Our expansion into healthcare requires HIPAA compliance... 2. Explain the risk Without proper controls, we face $50k per violation fines... 3. Present the solution Implementing these controls costs $200k... 4. Show the outcome Unlocks $8M healthcare market and prevents regulatory risk... 5. Make the ask Requesting $200k investment for Q2... Time speaking: 5 minutes (not 30) Slides used: 3 (not 15) Budget approved: 100% (not 50%) What changed: Before: Technical expert talking to confused executives After: Business partner explaining risk and opportunity The skills that matter in the boardroom: → Business acumen (most important) → Financial literacy → Risk quantification → Storytelling → Reading the room → Executive presence → Technical knowledge (least important for board) Nobody teaches this in security certifications. To CISOs preparing for boards: Ask yourself: → Would my CFO understand this? → Would my CEO care about this? → Does this connect to business outcomes? → Can I explain it in 3 sentences? If no to any: Revise. Best advice I got: Mentor: "In the boardroom, you're not the CISO. You're the business leader who happens to know security." Changed my entire approach. What's your biggest boardroom lesson learned the hard way? SOC(k) game is still great curtesy of Akeyless Security #cybersecurity #ciso #leadership #board #ceo #cfo #business #translation #technology #innovation