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Leadership is a Team Sport: Let's learn from the leading champions and teams in sports to regularly sharpen our super-skills and our mindset, ideally supported, challenged and inspired by the right coach or trainer. Leaders are trainers... This time I give my special thanks to my fabulous sparring partner and co-trainer on stage at Quehenberger Logistics in Salzburg: Their CISO Sebastian Kittl. Sebastian and I had the honor and pleasure to run the leadership training days with bold focus on strategic, operational and cybersecurity levers of digitalization. For me it was a truly inspiring and valuable encounter. We bundled our forces to deliver maximum impact for the already highly qualified crew to give them the extra edge in terms of becoming bold digital leaders. Here's a sneak peak on some best practices... 8 best practices and habits that digital leaders should adopt, focusing on digitalization, cybersecurity and their strategic mindset: Embrace Digitalization: Understand digitalization is not just about technology, but about how it can enable business transformation and provide value. It's crucial to leverage digital tools and platforms to improve efficiency and productivity. Prioritize Cybersecurity: Make cybersecurity a top priority. Ensure your team is trained to recognize and avoid potential threats. Implement robust security measures to protect your people's and organization's data and digital assets. Develop a Strategic Mindset: Think about the long-term implications of decisions. Understand how digital trends can impact your business strategy. This will help you make informed decisions that align with your organization's goals. Foster a Culture of Digital Readiness: Encourage your team to be open to using new digital tools and platforms. This will help your organization stay competitive in the digital age. And: Lead by example! Know Cybersecurity Measures: Update your knowledge about the latest cybersec threats and protection measures as well as standards (TISAX, ISO 27001, ...). This will help you stay a step ahead of potential threats. Be Proactive, Not Reactive: Don't wait for a crisis to happen. Be proactive in identifying potential risks and mitigating them. This will help you prevent issues before they escalate. Manage risks and chances. Encourage Innovation: Foster a culture where ideas are welcomed and rewarded. Remember, digital leaders are innovators. Encouraging innovation will help your organization stay ahead of the curve. Lead the way! Learn and Adapt: The digital landscape is constantly changing. Make it a habit to learn about new trends and adapt your strategies. This will help you stay relevant and competitive in the digital age. I am very much looking forward to our next bold sessions in the future. Best energy to the whole crew and a fabulous rest of the week! Florian #digitalization #digitalleadership #digitalimpact #digitalsecurity #cybersecurity #impactleadership #mindset #training #business

Strategies for security leaders: Building a positive cybersecurity culture: Culture is a catalyst for security success. It can significantly reduce cybersecurity risks and boost cybersecurity resilience of any organization. Culture can also greatly enhance the perceived value, relevance and reputation of the cybersecurity function. So how can security leaders develop a positive brand and culture for cybersecurity? Listed below are some recommendations and best practices: 1. Understand the prevailing culture and context To understand why the workforce behaves in a certain way about technology … More → The post Strategies for security leaders: Building a positive cybersecurity culture appeared first on Help Net Security.

Reflection Week 17 Task: Create a CEO playbook CEO Personal Growth Playbook: Building My Future Self By Enebeli Azalliah Vision Statement "I am committed to evolving into a dynamic leader in cybersecurity, driving technological innovation and fostering ethical resilience. I aim to be a catalyst for change by ensuring secure digital ecosystems, mentoring future leaders, and growing a global network of collaborators passionate about safeguarding our digital future." 3 Key Areas for Growth 1. Skills Mastery: Advanced Cybersecurity Techniques Goal: Deepen expertise in cutting-edge cybersecurity, focusing on AI-based threat detection and cloud security. 2. Mindset Development: Emotional Resilience & Strategic Thinking Goal: Cultivate emotional resilience and strategic foresight in high-pressure situations. 3. Network Expansion: Building Global Connections Goal: Expand my network globally, positioning myself as a connector and thought leader in cybersecurity. 90-Day Growth Strategy 1. Skills Mastery: Advanced Cybersecurity Techniques • Complete an AI-focused cybersecurity course. • Participate in monthly Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges. • Create a side project on AI-powered threat detection and share it online. 2. Mindset Development: Emotional Resilience & Strategic Thinking • Read leadership insights (e.g., The Resilient Leader). • Journal weekly, reflecting on decisions, setbacks, and breakthroughs. • Partner with an executive coach for monthly check-ins. 3. Network Expansion: Building Global Connections • Attend global cybersecurity events (e.g., DEF CON). • Engage with thought leaders on LinkedIn. • Join online communities and organize knowledge-sharing sessions. Timeline and Milestones Days 1-30: • Enroll in AI cybersecurity course, begin weekly CTFs. • Select a leadership book and start reflective journaling. • Identify events, secure tickets, and engage more on LinkedIn. Days 31-60: • Complete 50% of the course, share a mini-project. • Implement book strategies and begin coaching sessions. • Attend a virtual summit and connect with three influencers. Days 61-90: • Complete the course, publish an AI threat detection project. • Finish the book, document growth, and publish a blog post. • Attend a second event, expand LinkedIn network, and organize a knowledge-sharing session. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) 1. Skills Mastery • Complete AI-focused cybersecurity course. • Participate in one CTF per month. • Share AI-based threat detection project. 2. Mindset Development • Journal 5-7 times weekly. • Finish the leadership book. • Attend one coaching session monthly. 3. Network Expansion • Attend two cybersecurity events. • Grow LinkedIn network by 15 connections. • Organize a knowledge-sharing session. Conclusion I will review milestones bi-weekly, ensuring balanced growth in skills, mindset, and networking, leading to personal success and industry impact. #My3MTT #3MTTWeeklyReflection #3MTTCommunity #3mttNigeria, #IHSTowers, #NITDANigeria

📣 A robust security culture is more than just a necessity—it’s a key differentiator between organizations that thrive and those that fall behind. Lance Spitzner and I recently completed a major update to the SANS Institute SANS Security Leadership LDR521 - Security Culture for Leaders course (https://lnkd.in/eq8HGAnv), refining the content to meet the modern demands of security leadership. Whether you’re a CISO, Security Manager, or security leader, the lessons in LDR521 are designed to help you create a culture that fosters trust, accountability, and engagement. 👀 Here’s what students had to say about the course just this month: - “Great information and actionable. I will be able to use it right away when I get back to the office.” - “Exercises are much more thought-provoking and difficult but very realistic.” - “This course inspired me to try some of the steps in my work next week.” - “I highly recommend it for those in leadership to take. I am finding great reminders and tips on how to do things better. Sometimes, I get so bogged down in the workload associated with a leadership position that I forget some important nuances/how to do things that would make someone a better leader overall.” - “I definitely recommend—think more leaders should take something like this. Very thought-provoking on engaging employees and building a strong security culture.” - “Thanks to the course, I learned much more about culture than I expected, and I can’t wait to use it when I return to work.” - “Without understanding culture, it is difficult (or impossible) to change what’s wrong in an organization of any significant size.” At its core, security culture is about people—their behaviors, attitudes, and actions. Technical defenses can only go so far if people aren’t empowered to make good decisions. Security culture is the foundation that supports all other efforts, ensuring that everyone in the organization understands their role in protecting critical assets and data. While the core principles of LDR521—leadership, influence, and cultural transformation—remain, we’ve made significant updates based on the latest trends and challenges in security leadership. Here’s what’s new: - **New Case Studies**: We’ve added several real-world examples of organizations that successfully transformed their security culture, highlighting their practical steps to overcome challenges. - **Interactive Exercises**: Our hands-on exercises have been expanded, giving participants more opportunities to apply what they’ve learned in realistic scenarios. These exercises reflect the complexities of today’s hybrid work environments and diverse organizational structures. - **Updated Metrics**: Measuring security culture is often challenging, so we’ve enhanced the section on metrics and KPIs. The updated content helps leaders track progress, identify gaps, and continuously improve security programs. #ciso #securityculture #leadership

Transform Your Security Culture Now! [#CyberSecurity #InfoSec] Steps to remediate a dysfunctional security culture: 🛡 Assess current state - Identify gaps in employee security awareness. 🎯 Strategy development - Set clear goals and metrics. 📢 Effective communication - Ensure everyone understands their role in security. Building a robust security culture is crucial to mitigate risks and vulnerabilities within an organization. 🤔 Is your organization's security culture proactive or reactive? How have you improved your security practices? #SecurityCulture #CyberRisk #DataProtection #Leadership #CorporateCulture Find detailed strategies here: https://lnkd.in/gT9Xz7tU

💡 CIOs juggle many priorities, but keeping your team engaged is critical. An engaged team isn’t just more productive. They’re also better at identifying and tackling #risk, such as cybersecurity threats, early on. But despite good intentions, it's easy to fall into common traps that can undermine team morale and leave you exposed to potential issues. So here's five engagement mistakes for you to keep an eye out for. #CIO

If you're struggling to make security awareness work in your organization, looking for better ways to improve things like attention, engagement, retention, and action, maybe you should think about finely customized training instead of yet more off-the-shelf. It's something I've done on and off for clients over the years, and I think it's now finally ready for its time in the spotlight. Not only is highly customized training likely to be more effective in achieving your awareness goals, but it can often be more affordable than generic off-the-shelf training. The kind that most employees don't like anyway. Customized means the lessons are very specifically about your rules and policies - and not everybody else’s. Your expectations and values. Your environment and culture. Your people, faces, and places. Your brand and image. And even video messages of encouragement from your leadership. Dozens of studies support the idea that customized training is simply the better option and a win all round. For training to truly work in any workplace, it helps if it feels like the training belongs in, grew up in, that workplace. Take a look, give it a try, you probably already know it’s going to feel better anyway. #securityawareness #awarenesstraining #phishing

One of the things we discussed in the SANS Security Culture class is how security can better partner with others. Too often security teams conflict with your organization's overall culture, which is why there can be so much resistance. For example, if your organization embraces innovation, you have to ensure the security team is perceived as "collaborative" and "enabler". So we discussed the idea of a partnering template, a process security teams can follow whenever they engage and support another business unit. Instead of perceiving security as just an operational technical challenge, security is supporting the business unit's goals. Here is the template we discussed in class SANS LDR521: Security Culture for Leaders - sans.org/ldr521 Executive Summary Our goal on the security team is to support and enable other departments, regions and business units to securely and safely achieve their mission. In many ways we are critical business partners. As part of that role, we need to move from a mindset of “no” to a mindset of “yes, and this is how you can securely do that.”. When we are asked to support a certain group, project or initiative here are a series of questions the security team can start with.   Project Understanding ·What are the primary goals of your project or initiative? ·What are the key deliverables and deadlines? ·Who are the main stakeholders involved in this project? Communication and Collaboration ·Who is the primary point of contact for your team? ·How often should we schedule check-ins or progress meetings? ·What is the best way for us to communicate and share information? Technical Details ·What technologies and platforms will be used in this project? ·Are there any new tools or systems that will be introduced? ·How will data be stored, processed, and transmitted? Risk Assessment ·What do you feel are the main risks associated with this project? ·What are you biggest concerns or challenges with this effort? ·What measures are currently in place to mitigate these risks? Security Integration ·How can our security team assist you in achieving your project goals? ·What security requirements or standards are relevant to this project? ·Are there any specific security controls or protocols that need to be implemented? Support and Resources ·What resources or support do you need from the security team? ·Are there any training or awareness sessions that would be beneficial for your team? ·How can we help you better understand and manage security requirements? Feedback and Improvement ·What feedback do you have on our current collaboration and support efforts? ·Are there any areas where we can improve our partnership? ·What additional support or resources would you like to see from our security team in the future? #securityculture #organizationalculture SANS Security Leadership

🚑 Balancing Life as a Technologist and First Responder in United Hatzalah: Leadership Lessons from the Frontlines 🖥️ From quick decision-making to building trust and empathy, the lessons from the frontlines have a powerful impact on how we approach challenges in tech and cybersecurity. Whether responding to a system breach or an emergency call, the principles are surprisingly similar. 🔐💼 Read the full article on Medium to discover how leadership can thrive under pressure 🧘♂️ , in both life-saving and tech-driven worlds: https://lnkd.in/eAsfwir5 #cybersecurity #leadership #resilience #emergencyresponse #infosec #technology

Weekly Reflection Task for week 18! Personal Growth Playbook: My CEO Development Journey. Mission Statement: To continuously evolve into a more knowledgeable, effective, and adaptable professional by strategically improving skills, expanding my network, and refining my mindset. Key Areas for Growth 1. Advanced Cybersecurity Expertise (Industry Knowledge) 2. Leadership & Decision-Making (Mindset) 3. Strategic Networking (Network) 90-Day Growth Strategy 1. Advanced Cybersecurity Expertise Objective: Deepen my understanding and practical experience in key cybersecurity fields like cloud security, threat hunting, Ethical Hacking and incident response. Strategy: - Learning: I Enroll in a specialized online course (e.g., Offensive Security Certified Professional - OSCP or AWS Certified Security). Dedicate 6-8 hours a week for course work and labs. - Mentorship: I usually Reach out to industry experts, especially from Wil-Tech Africa, for guidance and advice. Set bi-weekly mentorship calls. - Collaboration: I Work on real-life projects by contributing to open-source security projects or collaborating on Wil-Tech Africa’s internal projects. - Measure of Success:Achieving certification in a targeted cybersecurity area and applying my knowledge to solve a real-world security challenge. 2. Leadership & Decision-Making Objective: I Developed a CEO-level mindset by refining my leadership, emotional intelligence, and decision-making abilities. Strategy: - Learning:I Read key books like "Leaders Eat Last" by Simon Sinek and "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman. Dedicate 2-3 hours a week for reading. - Mentorship: I Engage with seasoned executive or coach for leadership training. Schedule monthly meetings to review progress and get feedback on leadership decisions. - Collaboration: I always Volunteer to lead a community initiative in cybersecurity awareness. Take charge of the planning and execution phases, applying leadership strategies in practice. - Measure of Success: Leading a successful initiative and receiving positive feedback from both mentors and team members on leadership skills. 3. Strategic Networking Objective: I will Expand my professional network within the cybersecurity and public health sectors. Strategy: - Learning: I Attend webinars, conferences, and networking events (both virtually and in-person). Set a goal to attend at least 3 events in the next 90 days, including one related to public health (e.g., McGill University events). - Collaboration: I Actively participate in discussions on LinkedIn and other professional networks. Aim to establish relationships with 10 new contacts, ensuring consistent follow-up and value sharing. - Measure of Success: Forming meaningful connections with 3-5 professionals who can provide insights or opportunities in cybersecurity or public health. Below is my Visual Roadmap 👇 #MY3MTT #3MTTCommunity 3MTT Nigeria IHS Towers NITDA Nigeria DaHel Consultants and Techies