On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , we discuss how to give a great presentation. Starting with the Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF) Using pictures to Capture Attention Asking Thought Provoking Questions Succinct Points to tell a story Decision slides that show The problem The proposed solution Cost to implement solution Why alternatives are not as good Next Steps after decision is made We also discuss the Angels Cocktail which is a concept taken from a Ted Talk by JP Phillips Dopamine is a neurotran...
Jan 17, 2022•33 min•Ep. 61
One of the most common questions that we get asked on CISO Tradecraft is what do I need to learn to be a good CISO? After a lot of reflection, CISO Tradecraft put together a Top 10 List of CISO knowledge domains that we believe are the core skills which produce really good CISOs. This episode is a continuation from the previous episode and will go over the 6th -10th knowledge areas. Product Security focuses on ensuring developers write secure code Defensive Technologies focuses on creating multi...
Jan 10, 2022•18 min•Ep. 60
One of the most common questions that we get asked on CISO Tradecraft is what do I need to learn to be a good CISO? After a lot of reflection, CISO Tradecraft has put together a Top 10 List of CISO knowledge domains that we believe are the core skills which produce really good CISOs. This episode will go over just the first 5 knowledge areas with the remaining five on a future episode. Product Security focuses on ensuring developers write secure code Defensive Technologies focuses on creating mu...
Jan 03, 2022•16 min•Ep. 59
After bad actors gain an initial foothold into an organization, they often use active directory attacks to gain administrative privileges. On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , we discuss Active Directory. You can learn what it is, how it works, common attacks used against it, and ways you can secure it. References: Stealthbits Active Directory Attacks Wikipedia Active Directory Wikipedia Directory Service Wired Story on Not Petya CIS Hardened Images MS Domain Services Mimikatz Kerberos Indeed Ac...
Dec 27, 2021•27 min•Ep. 58
You just got the news that the Cyber Organization is going to be audited. Do you know what an audit is, how best to prepare for it, and how to respond to audit findings? On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , we help you understand key auditing concepts such as: Audit Subject Audit Objective Vulnerability Threat Risk & Impact Audit Scope with Goals & Objectives Audit Plan Audit Response...
Dec 20, 2021•15 min•Ep. 57
Have you ever heard someone say our firewalls block this type of attack? In this episode, you can increase your understanding of firewalls so it won’t just be another buzzword. 6 Basic categories of firewalls that we discuss on the show include: Packet Filters focus on IP and port blocking Stateful Inspection Firewall looks at active connections and consider context Network Address Translation Firewalls tools that allow private networks to connect to public ones and create secure enclaves Proxy ...
Dec 13, 2021•31 min•Ep. 56
On this episode of CISO Tradecraft you can learn all about Software Agents. Specifically we discuss: What does an Agent do, Why is an Agent helpful, and the 7 common types of Software Agents you would expect to find in large IT organizations. Also, if you stick to the end you can also learn about Secret Agents (ie Agentless). 7 Common Software Agents are: Endpoint Configuration Agents - Tools like Microsoft Endpoint Manager or SCCM Mobile Device Managers - Tools like Microsoft Intune or Google E...
Dec 03, 2021•17 min•Ep. 55
The Great Resignation is upon us, and if some of your top talent hasn't given you their notice, it may be happening soon. Or not, depending on what you choose to do. With plenty of time to contemplate options, people are quitting jobs at a record pace. But wise leaders learn how to listen to their people's needs and desires, create a sense of purpose that motivates far beyond a paycheck, and creates a safe working space by allowing people to be human and make the occasional mistake. Keep your IT...
Nov 19, 2021•36 min•Ep. 54
In this episode, you can hear from Dr. Neal Krawetz , creator of Hacker Factor and FotoForensics. Neal's a long-time security practitioner who shares some fascinating insights in terms of how to identify potential bad actors early on (think reconnaissance interception), techniques for detecting bots and malicious entities, and ways to protect your team members from misattributed fake blog entries.
Nov 05, 2021•44 min•Ep. 53
Special Thanks to our podcast Sponsor, Prevailion. Some of the best C-level executives start in the technical ranks. This episode features Nate Warfield , CTO of Prevailion , who differentiated himself by creating the CTI-League.com to assist healthcare companies with ransomware. We'll cover some of that organization, how Nate got his first C-level job, and some lessons learned you might appreciate in your own CISO journey. To learn more about Cyber Adversary Intelligence, please check out Preva...
Oct 29, 2021•48 min•Ep. 52
When you first start a cybersecurity job, or hire someone into a cybersecurity job, there is a window of opportunity to see things with a new perspective. In this episode, we’re privileged to share ideas with Rebecca Mossman, a successful cybersecurity leader who has led successfully a number of teams in her career. We’ll examine relationships, stakeholders, setting priorities, communication, and knowing when to call something “done” and move on to the next task.
Oct 18, 2021•43 min•Ep. 51
A Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) misconfiguration is what took out Facebook on 4 October. Most IT folks don't understand how BGP works. This episode helps you gain a better understanding of the protocol that creates routing tables to move information from one end of the Internet to the other. We'll explain how Autonomous Systems (AS) share BGP route information, what should happen when things go right, and then examine what likely went wrong at Facebook and how you might be able to prepare for po...
Oct 11, 2021•31 min•Ep. 50
This is a special treat. On this episode of CISO Tradecraft you can hear Mark D. Rasch, JD, discuss legal and security topics that he's encountered in his more than 30 years of experience in cybersecurity law. We look into ransomware, reportable breaches, the appropriateness (or lack thereof) of certain legal statues, and finish with some actionable advice for CISOs and security leaders that you really need to hear.
Oct 01, 2021•44 min•Ep. 49
We've all suffered through horrible meetings that felt like a total waste of time. As a security leader, you'll be convening your fair share of meetings with your staff. Don't be "that boss" who can't run an effective meeting. This episode shows ways you can ensure your meetings are both efficient and effective, result in actionable tasking, and keep people coming back for more because you showed respect for their time and their ideas. And we even practice what we preach -- this episode ends ear...
Sep 24, 2021•33 min•Ep. 48
In our 31 July 2021 Episode 42, Risky Business, we covered the basics of risk and risk assessment. This part 2 episode gets into the practical application of risk management using the FAIR model, or Factor Analysis of Information Risk. We explain key risk terminology and walk through examples of how to express risk using this model, as well as creating a meaningful way to explain to executives that is actionable. Risk Matrix Example: Link One Page FAIR Model: Link Measuring & Managing Inform...
Sep 17, 2021•43 min•Ep. 47
Have you ever faced a crisis? How well did you do? You should always want to improve your skills in case another happens. On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, G. Mark Hardy shares some of his experiences as the on-scene commander for the military first responders at the World Trade Center, and expands that into a set of skills and attributes that you can cultivate to become a more effective crisis response leader in your role as a cybersecurity professional. References: 5 Leadership Skills Link How ...
Sep 10, 2021•45 min•Ep. 46
Traditional risk models focus on calculating loss frequency and magnitude, but don't go far enough in terms of modeling the most important assets in our organization, known as "crown jewels." This episode of CISO Tradecraft is a fascinating interview with the CEO and founder of a startup focusing on crown jewel analysis -- Roselle Safran . We'll look into how making this a part of your portfolio helps put the "C" in CISO by showing your understanding of the business in which you work. We'll also...
Sep 03, 2021•46 min•Ep. 45
Containers are a lightweight technology that allows applications to deploy to a number of different host Operating Systems without having to make any modifications at all to the code. As a result, we're been seeing a big increase in the use of Docker, Kubernetes, and other tools deployed by enterprises. In this episode, we'll cover the fundamentals of containers, Docker, orchestration tools such as Kubernetes, and provide you with knowledge to understand this environment, and maybe even tempt yo...
Aug 27, 2021•31 min•Ep. 44
Join CISO Tradecraft for a fascinating discussion on how to build cyber traps for the bad guys that really work. By creating a deceptive environment that "booby-trap" your networks with fake services, enticing resources, and make-believe traffic, we can create a high-fidelity, low-noise intrusion sensor system -- no legitimate user would ever try these. Improve your SOC efficiency by actively engaging with intruders rather than sifting through false positives. There's a lot to learn here, and Ke...
Aug 20, 2021•45 min•Ep. 43
Special Thanks to our podcast Sponsor, C yberGRX On today’s episode, we bring in Scott Fairbrother to help tackle key questions with Third Party Risk Management: How do you identify which vendors pose the highest risk to your business? How do you see which vendor’s security controls protect against threats? How do you validate their risk profiles by scanning, dark web monitoring or other techniques to correlate what attackers are seeing and acting upon? Do you have an understanding of how to imp...
Aug 13, 2021•52 min•Ep. 42
Cyber Threat Intelligence is an important part of an effective CISO arsenal, but many security leaders don’t fully understand how to optimize it for their benefit. In this show, we examine why cyber threat intelligence is vital to fielding an effective defense, discuss the intelligence cycle, examine the four types of threat intelligence, and feature a special guest, Landon Winkelvoss of https://nisos.com , who has spent a career mastering this topic and shares a number of important insights you...
Aug 06, 2021•41 min•Ep. 41
In this episode, we take a deep dive into that four-letter word RISK. Risk is measurable uncertainty. As a component of Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC), risk management is an important part of a security leader's responsibility. Risk assessment is conducted for a number of reasons, and measuring risk is an important component of effectively overseeing our IT investments. We'll look at NIST and ISO standards for risk, and define the different types of risk assessments. And, because there i...
Aug 01, 2021•44 min•Ep. 40
Being a CISO has been described as the "toughest job in the world." It comes with a lot of stress, which can lead to early burnout as well as a number of health and relationship problems. Well, we're going to tackle this elephant in the room and investigate some of the sources of stress and ways we can deal with it. 88% of CISOS report being "moderately or tremendously stressed" We discuss eight everyday situations that can cause CISO stress, and then explore the way of Ikigai, Japanese for "rea...
Jul 23, 2021•30 min•Ep. 39
This episode of CISO Tradecraft discusses CMMC. The Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), is the US government response to the massive amounts of defense-related information compromised over the years from contractors and third parties. The program will be mandatory for all defense contractors by 2025, and has the potential to expand to the entire Federal government, affecting every entity that sells to Uncle Sam. CMMC has five levels of progressively more rigorous certification wit...
Jul 18, 2021•31 min•Ep. 38
On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , you will hear about the most prominent Cyber Security Laws and Regulations: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) advocates the security and privacy of personal health information Administrative Safeguards Physical Safeguards Technical Safeguards The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) is designed to provide transparency on anything that could cause material impact to the financials of a company Cyber Risk Assessment Identify Disclosure Control...
Jul 09, 2021•43 min•Ep. 37
This episode of CISO Tradecraft is all about IPv6, featuring Joe Klein . IPv6 is becoming the dominant protocol on the Internet, and CISOs should understand the implications of how their enterprise is potentially vulnerable to attacks that may come from that vector, as well as be aware of defenses that may originate from an effective IPv6 deployment. This broadcast will cover the business cases for IPv6, the technical differences between IPv4 and IPv6, and the security implications of implementi...
Jul 03, 2021•44 min•Ep. 36
On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , you can learn how to build an Application Security program. Start with Key Questions for Security IT Operations Application Development/Engineering Groups Identify Key Activities Asset Discovery Asset Risk Prioritization Mapping Assets Against Compliance Requirements Setting up a Communications Plan Perform Application Security Testing Activities SAST DAST Vulnerability Scanners Software Composition Analysis Secrets Scanning Cloud Security Scanning Measure an...
Jun 25, 2021•41 min•Ep. 35
What is measured gets done. However before you measure you need to think about how best to measure. On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , we provide you new insights into optimizing metrics that matter. What is a Metric? Metrics drive outcomes. Before picking a metric consider the following: What data is required? What stories can it tell? What questions does it invite? How sustainable is it? When you report metrics highlight three things: Status or Measure- Where is your company right now? Trend...
Jun 18, 2021•42 min•Ep. 34
On this episode of CISO Tradecraft , you can learn the 10 steps to Incident Response Planning: Establish a Cyber Incident Response Team Develop a 24/7 Contact list for Response Personnel Compile Key Documentation of Business-Critical Networks and Systems Identify Response Partners and Establish Mutual Assistance Agreements Develop Technical Response Procedures for Incident Handling that your team can follow: External Media - An alert identifies someone plugged in a removable USB or external devi...
Jun 11, 2021•44 min•Ep. 33
Special Thanks to our podcast Sponsor, CyberArk. Experienced CISOs know that it's not a matter of if, but when. Incidents happen, and there is an established response strategy nicknamed PICERL that works: (P)reparation (I)dentification (C)ontainment (E)radication (R)ecovery (L)essons Learned If we "shift left" with our incident planning, we can minimize our organizational risk -- thorough preparation, including establishing an environment of least privilege, significantly increases the challenge...
Jun 04, 2021•44 min•Ep. 32
