Cybersecurity is hard. For a CISO that faces the cyber threat
landscape with a small security team, the challenge is
compounded.
Compared to CISOs at large enterprises, CISOs small to
medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have smaller teams with less
expertise, smaller budgets for technology and outside services, and
are more involved in day-to-day protection activities.
CISOs at SMEs are increasingly relying on virtual CISOs (vCISOs)
to provide security expertise and guidance. vCISOs are typically
former CISOs with years of experience building and managing
information security programs across large and small
organizations.
Helpful Advice for CISOs with Small Security
Teams
Brian Haugli, a well-known vCISO in the US, recently
collaborated with cybersecurity company Cynet[1]—which provides
autonomous XDR platforms tailored to small security teams—to
provide a series of educational videos for CISOs with small
security teams with relevant information about their challenges and
possible solutions (See here[2]).
With his broad and deep cybersecurity background, Brian is able
to provide pragmatic advice to CISOs that are overwhelmed with the
myriad activities and programs required to protect their
organizations.
In the first installment, Brian provides an excellent series of
videos to help CISOs better understand and prepare for adopting the
NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF).
Brain is a big advocate of using the CSF guidelines to help
CISOs better understand, manage, and reduce cyber risk. The video
series walks through several components of the CSF framework that
ultimately help CISOs decide where to focus their time and budget
for cybersecurity protection.
The NIST CSF is an excellent approach for CISOs to step back and
logically assess their current situation and then develop a
practical plan of action. It helps them focus on high priority
items and ensure that the highest priority risks are identified and
addressed. The biggest benefit for a CISO may be a higher level of
assurance that critical gaps are not being overlooked.