How can you simplify security concepts for non-technical audiences?

First you have to really understand the fundamentals yourself. Then you can break it down, using comparisons; graphs, charts, lists to help visualize technical concepts. Additionally, using very simple physical concepts that are comparable to the technical one is always useful. For example, comparing hacking to breaking into a house will allow the non technical audience to better comprehend the more subtle details of the technical content.

Analogies are supremely helpful and is something I use in my current business of financial sales all day every day, and will be continuing to utilize as I transition into security. I have found the best analogies are when you can create one using something personal and familiar to your audience. Try to craft your analogy in relation to your audience's employment or a hobby they enjoy, as it helps to paint a more understandable and relatable picture for them. Humans make sense of the world through stories, so if you can craft a relatable story for someone, even if it's fictional, you can create a bond of understanding while building rapport along the way.

With the rise in security incidents, we have example for every kind of attack from Website defaming, and phishing to ransomware attacks. Every incident has its own way of approach, so using example its easy to address the attack type and make people understand

Creating a cybersecurity culture within the organization can assist three-fold. 1. This communicates to the business that security is everyone's responsibility. 2. Putting in a cybersecurity platform with micro lessons or engaging in a requirement filled LMS can help train users. 3. Champions within the company can be used as an extension of security teams to help overcome the learning curve.

The absolute best way to describe security concepts is to start with what Security is not in metaphors and analogies that non-technical influencers can understand. I like to use Offense and Defense as it relates to a playing field. Defense is not Offense. Without a good defense, Tom Brady would not have won 7 Super Bowls no matter how gifted he was. Income Statements and Balance Sheets don't lie. Unless you are a security company or unless you are using your security capabilities to win contracts/proposals, solidify relationships bankers, or insurance companies for example, don't link spending with Defense to Offense.

Acronyms are something we should avoid in the first place. People who are into the industry have adapted to the abbrev and acronyms. But when it comes to explaining to non-technical people, we should keep it simple and straight so that they can understand and based on the conversation we can deep dive

Benefits and risks is also fundamental when adopting new technologies. AI offers huge benefits like efficiency and innovation, but with it come cybersecurity risks. Compromised AI could mean significant losses or dangers in everyday applications. Recognizing the benefits, yet staying proactive about risks, is key. Ironically, even this advisory was AI-generated. Benefits and risks, always intertwined!

This is where you need to understand the difference between the benefits and features of a security program. Benefits are for the audience, and features are for the company. When you show them how they can password protect their sensitive data with the help of strong and complex passwords with a password manager, they will be more open to trying. For business owners who are non-technical, show them not just the financial implications of data loss and breach but also the reputational loss and loss of clients. For non-technical business owners, the trust of their customers is vital, and you need to show them that with data breach the trust can be lost easily.

Every role in an organization or team has certain responsibilities, its important to explain the benefits for the organization, and the risks associated with it. It creates the emotion to relate with the situations and make people aware of the situations

With the technology and services currently offered, we should be removing as much risk through automated updates to OS and other vendor applications to increase your endpoint posture. While all companies operate in various models, lots have regulatory agencies that require this to be measured. Create GRC within your company even if at the very least to have a place to start your program and mature it over time.

Infographics are best way to explain. People often connect to visuals than text, audio. Its important to make use of visuals to explain the concept better. Since we already have real incidents in place, we can use the incident events and create a visuals to demonstrate the example so that every person can able to understand

There is a lot of good information that comes from Security. In order not to overwhelm people there should be consistent use of your intranet to send different security messages weekly that help re-enforce behaviors. If you are a company that uses Microsoft, then use Yammer to deliver information like infographics on the 10 things to look for in a phishing email. Look into alternate ways to consume learning. Ninjio is an amazing platform that is up to date on techniques and even quizzes the user after to help retain what was learned in that assigned lesson. Having a program in place helps identify those that could be having a hard time grasping content. It can also help by providing you with identifying users that can mentor others.

Visuals, examples, and infographics all help to educate non-technical audience about cybersecurity and why it is everybody's responsibility. 1. You may create 10 things to watch out when receiving a mail from anyone. 2. 5 ways you can identify your device has been comprised and what to do about it. All these help a non-technical understand the implications of not following cybersecurity hygiene and will want them to be more careful about what they share, receive, and click.

Users represent the greatest area of attack surface to a company. With user identities being the most sought-after commodity for threat actors. Knowing what security practices land with your users is very important. This empowers security teams to keep delivering content which over the course of time turns into culture within the business.

This is one of the most crucial steps in simplifying security for your non-technical audience. But here's the catch. You not only have to simplify the complex terms but also retain the essence. So, you should first understand those terms to make them easily understandable to your non-technical audiences. Random quizzes, simulations, table top exercises are some of the ways to know whether or not your non-technical audiences have understood it or not.

One of the most helpful ways to get a point across is to create a legit story. Whether this is an anecdote from your own experiences or simply creating new scenario to help your audience better visualize, storytelling is a great approach.

If nothing from above seems to be working for you, then you can also try summarising it and then convert it into simple form. So that the person who's reading it can easily get an overview and a normal understandable text to read.

Personal Relevance and Real-world Impact: It's essential to emphasize how cybersecurity concepts directly affect individuals' personal lives and why they should care about them. This perspective highlights the potential risks and benefits in everyday terms, making the information more relatable and motivating individuals to take action to protect themselves. By showing how security concepts impact their data, privacy, and finances, you can engage non-technical audiences more effectively.

Analogies your work better when it comes to explaining cybersecurity to non-cybersec folks. Storytelling may not always possible in a normal work scenario. Depending on who the audience is, you need to speak that language. 1. An HR guy can understand impact of cybersecurity better due to his work in background checks, onboarding, offboarding etc. 2. Sales guy can understand privacy better as he is mostly dealing with privacy notices through newletters to prospects 3. Finance guys understand fraud and audit better - as finance audits are common in every industry You need to work out on strategy to include cybersecurity in these conversations.