Cybersecurity is not only a technical challenge, but also a communication challenge. To ensure your cybersecurity program is effectively communicating with other departments, you need to align your goals, metrics, and language with the business needs and expectations of your stakeholders. Here are some tips to help you achieve this.
Before you communicate with other departments, you need to understand who they are, what they care about, and how they perceive cybersecurity. Different audiences may have different levels of awareness, interest, and expertise in cybersecurity issues. You need to tailor your message and tone accordingly, and avoid using jargon, acronyms, or technical details that may confuse or alienate them. Instead, focus on the benefits, risks, and value of your cybersecurity program for their specific goals and challenges.
In addition to knowing who the audience is and which jobs are critical for them, it is also necessary to know the main business line of the institution and the important cyber events in the sector and to convey them with appropriate terminology.
It's important to first understand your business model. This understanding enables you to effectively draw up a program that works. Consequently, it helps you speak the right language to the respective departments regarding effective security measures
To communicate effectively with other departments, you need to establish trust and credibility. This means being transparent, honest, and respectful in your interactions, and demonstrating your competence and professionalism. You also need to show that you understand and appreciate the perspectives and contributions of other departments, and that you are willing to collaborate and compromise when necessary. You can build trust and credibility by sharing your successes, challenges, and lessons learned, and by soliciting feedback and input from other departments.
One of the most important aspects of communicating your cybersecurity program is using clear and consistent metrics that measure your performance, progress, and impact. Metrics help you demonstrate your value, justify your resources, and identify your gaps and opportunities. However, not all metrics are equally useful or relevant for different audiences. You need to choose metrics that are meaningful, actionable, and aligned with the business objectives and priorities of other departments. You also need to explain how you collect, analyze, and report your metrics, and how they relate to the overall cybersecurity strategy and vision.
To ensure your cybersecurity program is effectively communicating with other departments, you need to leverage multiple channels and formats that suit your purpose, audience, and message. Depending on the situation, you may use formal or informal channels, such as emails, newsletters, reports, presentations, meetings, webinars, podcasts, or social media. You may also use different formats, such as text, graphics, charts, tables, diagrams, videos, or audio. You need to choose the channel and format that best convey your message, capture attention, and engage your audience.
Another way to communicate your cybersecurity program is to provide guidance and education to other departments. This means helping them understand their roles and responsibilities in cybersecurity, and providing them with the tools, resources, and best practices to protect themselves and the organization. You can provide guidance and education through training sessions, workshops, webinars, newsletters, FAQs, checklists, policies, procedures, or tips. You can also create a culture of learning and awareness by encouraging questions, feedback, and suggestions from other departments.
Awareness creation program plays a substantial role in supporting the InfoSec Program to align with the strategic objectives or mission of an organization and also pave the way to effectively communicate the program in different departments of an organization. The awareness creation program should be engaging for these stakeholders (departments in this case) where their feedbacks are accommodated for continual improvement of the InfoSec Program which motivates the departments to provide suggestions in their area of concern freely for the future.
Finally, to ensure your cybersecurity program is effectively communicating with other departments, you need to seek feedback and improvement. This means asking for and listening to the opinions, concerns, and ideas of other departments, and using them to improve your communication and collaboration. You also need to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your communication, and identify what works and what doesn't. You can seek feedback and improvement through surveys, interviews, focus groups, polls, or analytics. You can also celebrate and acknowledge the achievements and contributions of other departments in your cybersecurity efforts.