BSW #285 – John Grancarich, Mike Devine

A proposed SEC rule will require companies to disclose their cybersecurity governance capabilities, including the board’s oversight of cyber risk, a description of management’s role in assessing and managing cyber risks, the relevant expertise of such management, and management’s role in implementing the company’s cybersecurity policies, procedures, and strategies. Meeting the new regulatory requirements can be better achieved by aligning how operational leaders discuss cybersecurity with their boards. Operational managers must start presenting their plans in a way that align with the way boards best contribute — the language of risk, resiliency, and reputation.

The CISO role has evolved dramatically over the past decade, maturing from security officer to impactful business leader who, increasingly, is a part of their organization's C-suite. In light of the considerable impact security risks have on business objectives, this is a welcome transformation. Encouraging employees to go beyond their day-to-day and view security as a priority, making allies of users and business managers and providing the organization with tangible value, is extremely rewarding.

32% of CISOs or IT Security DMs in the UK and US are considering leaving their current organization, according to a research from BlackFog. Of those considering leaving their current role, a third of those would do so within the next six months.

Cybersecurity is top of everyone’s agenda in 2023, so here’s a look at some of the key trends in 2023:

1. Internet of Things and cloud security
2. Work-from-home cybersecurity becomes a priority for businesses
3. International state-sponsored attackers target businesses as well as governments
4. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly prominent role in cybersecurity
5. Building a security-aware culture

While leaders have always performed emotional labor, this demand has increased dramatically over the last few years. Organizations need to stop dismissing this substantial emotional burden. In this piece, the authors explain why organizations need to start offering more support and outline practical strategies to try: 1) Recognize emotional labor as labor. 2) Promote self-compassion from the top down. 3) Provide training on handling others’ emotions. 4) Create peer support groups. As the adage goes and the research proves, it’s lonely at the top. By recognizing emotional labor and providing proper education, training, and support, organizations can help leaders effectively handle this essential but often overlooked requirement of their role.

According to research, 86% of employees have used jargon, but 36% had no idea what the phrases meant.

And more than half of the employees encounter buzzwords in a typical workday.

This means that over one-third of employees don’t understand daily workplace communication, which isn’t good for business.

So, let’s change that.