Scenario Planning - The Best Technique You Might Not Be Using
Scenario planning is one of the most underutilized techniques in security. Which is surprising given how effective it is in [good]...
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Nov 8, 20204 min read
Principles for Cybersecurity Metrics
“For every metric, there should be another ‘paired’ metric that addresses adverse consequences of the first metric.” - Andy Grove We talk...
3,862 views
Nov 1, 20207 min read
The Uncanny Valley of Security (or Why We Might Never Finish Anything)
The uncanny value is a famous term in robotics. It is used to describe how we accept robots that don’t attempt to look too human, but,...
3,048 views
Oct 25, 20204 min read
Cybersecurity Macro Themes for the 2020’s - Updated
There will be 6 major themes that differentiate great security programs, products, features and processes. These are different from...
1,787 views
Oct 18, 20203 min read
Why Cybersecurity Budget Benchmarks are a Waste of Time
I have built up a disdain for cybersecurity budgeting benchmarks. To be fair, there are some good attempts amid a sea of haphazard...
2,683 views
Oct 13, 20202 min read
Vulnerability Management - Updated
It still surprises me that much of the tone of vulnerability management is about patch/bug fix vs. detecting broader configuration and...
2,223 views
Oct 4, 20204 min read
Security for More than Security’s Sake - The Need for Adjacent Benefits
Truly excellent security programs deliver more than security risk mitigation. I know it is kind of ridiculous to say that when doing the...
1,205 views
Sep 27, 20205 min read
The Most Important Mental Models for CISOs - Simple Steps for Outsize Effects
There are lots of problem solving techniques across many fields. These are often represented as mental models or behavioral short-cuts....
2,234 views
Sep 20, 20203 min read
The Rising Tide and the Case for Security Optimism
Continuing with the theme of raising the baseline by reducing the cost of control we can see the next logical progression is that the...
848 views
Sep 13, 20204 min read
Raise the Baseline by Reducing the Cost of Control
One of the most successful techniques for enterprise security in many organizations is to create a universal baseline of controls that...
1,497 views
Sep 6, 20203 min read
Taking Inventories to the Next Level - Reconciliation and Triangulation
We know it is important to have good inventories across all of the assets we care about in an enterprise. For security purposes this is,...
1,251 views
Aug 22, 20203 min read
Cybersecurity Workforce Development - Updated
It is still somewhat frustrating that most of the dialog about the skills shortage in cybersecurity focuses, perhaps inevitably, on the...
1,215 views
Aug 8, 20203 min read
Insider Threat - Blast Radius Perspective - Updated
Of the vast canon of insightful commentary that has come from Dan Geer over many years, one that especially stuck with me was his...
1,250 views
Aug 1, 202010 min read
Cybersecurity and the Board : A Fresh Perspective?
How to represent cybersecurity (or technology / information risks more generally) to the Board is an ongoing subject of discussion in...
5,953 views
Jul 25, 20204 min read
Compliance vs. Security
It is sad that many security discussions are so binary: that is, if you’re not wildly for something then you must be wildly against it....
2,875 views
Jul 18, 20203 min read
Threat Intelligence - Updated
This is an update from a thread that became a post last year. Threat intelligence seems, at least to me, to get maligned too much. For...
1,329 views
Jul 12, 20203 min read
Security Leadership: A-grades vs. Pass/Fail
The underlying secret of most great security leaders and teams is one thing: the ability to know what needs to be done really well vs....
1,979 views
Jun 7, 20204 min read
Are Security Incidents Really Increasing?
I see regular waves of articles and commentary that assert : “We are spending more and more on security but security incidents / breaches...
1,134 views
May 17, 20203 min read
Crypto isn’t the Only Cyber Issue in a Post Quantum World
Let’s assume general purpose quantum computers that can operate usefully at scale are coming. I think a reasonable timeframe is 15 years....
686 views
May 9, 20202 min read
Think Twice Before Switching Off Controls : Chesterton's Fence
Chesterton's Fence is a cautionary tale to make sure that before you change things you actually understand their purpose. This is...
2,535 views
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