Get GUD in; Cybersecurity: A Guide to Better Decision-Making

As cybersecurity professionals, our primary focus should be safely achieving our organization's goals and outcomes. However, cybersecurity risks can significantly impact our ability to achieve these goals. Therefore, it is essential that we develop a Greater Understanding for Decision-making (GUD) to effectively manage cybersecurity risks. In this blog post, we will cover some high level points to help cybersecurity professionals give better data to senior executives and boards:

Learn the Language of the Business! To effectively communicate the importance of cybersecurity risks to the organization's overall strategy and goals, we must learn the language of the business. I can't downplay how important this is! or how many board I have had to come in to translate what was delivered to them into something they could use. Technical jargon is not meaningful to business leaders and can cause them to tune out or overlook the point of the presentation. Instead, we must learn to communicate cybersecurity risks in business terms that resonate with executives and board members. By doing so, we can better align cybersecurity initiatives with business goals and gain support AND budget for risk management efforts.

Tip: Gain access to a board/executive team meeting to gain exposure. Believe it or not, board members have some of the greatest understanding of governance and risk I have ever encountered, and it would only ever help you to be exposed to this.

Basic numerical stats to the board mean nothing. The board is responsible for overseeing the organizations strategic direction and risk management. However, basic numerical stats do not provide the necessary context for the board to make informed decisions about cybersecurity risks or initiatives. Instead, we must communicate cybersecurity risks in terms of their potential impact on the organization's strategic objectives and goals. By doing so, we can help the board understand the importance of prioritizing cybersecurity risk management efforts.

Tip: Use examples and stories to help the board understand the potential impact of cybersecurity risks or initiative on the organization's strategic objectives and goals.

Everything Should Equate Back to a Board Level Risk or Strategic Pillar. All cybersecurity activities should be tied to specific business objectives or risks, not just technical vulnerabilities or threats. This means that reporting should focus on the impact to the organization's goals and objectives, not just technical metrics or activities. By equating everything back to a board level risk or strategic pillar, cybersecurity professionals can:

• Ensure that all cybersecurity activities are aligned with the organization's overall strategy and goals.
• Communicate the value of cybersecurity investments in terms that resonate with the board.
• Demonstrate the business impact of cybersecurity risks and the importance of prioritizing risk management efforts.
• Highlight opportunities for the organization to leverage cybersecurity to achieve its strategic objectives.

Cybersecurity professionals can demonstrate the positive impact of cybersecurity by showcasing how it can enable business objectives and opportunities. For example, by embedding cybersecurity at the start of the process, businesses can create compliant, reusable architectures for new capabilities or outcomes, bypassing the need for a potentially lengthy assurance process to deploy new capabilities.

Tip: Deliver your message in a format that the board is used to seeing. Use the board's preferred reporting formats, such as dashboards, heat maps, or scorecards, to present cybersecurity risks and opportunities and their potential impact on the organization's strategic pillars. This will help the board better understand the risks and opportunities and make informed decisions about cybersecurity risk management.

In closing, getting GUD (Greater Understanding for Decision-making) in cybersecurity is essential to be effective in our fight. By learning the language of the business, communicating cybersecurity risks in terms of their potential impact on the organization's strategic objectives, and tying everything back to a board level risk or strategic pillar, cybersecurity professionals can better align cybersecurity initiatives with the organization's overall goals and gain support AND budget for risk management efforts. Remember, our primary focus as cybersecurity professionals should be safely achieving our organization's outcomes, and effective cybersecurity risk management is critical to achieving that goal.