Blog

Keep your eye on the ball - even when you are supported by MSPs. Jul 05, 2021

Hat tip to Huntress Labs for the story they broke Independence Day weekend about hackers compromising the computer systems of at least 1,000 businesses by targeting managed service providers. The story provides a good reminder about the importance of supply chain management because the attacks...

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Active Leadership Engagement Produces Better Cybersecurity Jun 08, 2021

The Cyber Strategy Retreat is a business strategy event that features executive panels, roundtable discussions, and keynote presentations from Eric McNulty, Cathryn Marshall, Lee Haney, and Keyaan Williams. This 6th conference will continue the mission of CLASS-LLC to promote...

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Three Organizations Pave the Way for the “Cybersecurity Dozen” May 17, 2021

Atlanta, GA: Cyber Leadership and Strategy Solutions (CLASS-LLC) and YWCA Metropolitan Chicago have partnered together to bring more people into the cybersecurity profession. Starting with twelve people in Chicago, the program provides a pipeline to close the cybersecurity skills gap facing the...

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Relationships and Attitudes: The pressure-free approach to selling cybersecurity Jan 13, 2021

Allan Alford posted one of my favorite LinkedIn posts to start 2021. He clearly and concisely shares his requirements for selling him something. I assume many people try to sell him products and services that he was not looking for given his role and the company he represents....

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The Colliding Worlds of Business, IT, and Security Sep 15, 2020

Thanks to Rick Gamache for a great offline conversation that is worth sharing publicly. 

Thesis

The number of new technologies isn't helping the dispersion of workforce in the industry, and it is making security harder than it has to be.

A few things to consider:

  1. ...
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Corporate security is doomed to fail without executive support and buy-in Jul 14, 2020

Many of my corporate governance conversations in the CCISO program focus on the fact that the business is missing from the security equation! If hundreds of global IT and security executives are talking about this in a closed session, this is worth talking about and exploring in a public forum.

...

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The Pandemic Road Not Taken Apr 07, 2020

In his classic poem, The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost uses the last stanza to reflect upon how clear choices can be in hindsight.

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 provides...

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The Gravity of the Situation Mar 18, 2020

Is COVID-19 serious? Yes. The virus is extremely contagious. Should the global economy grind to a halt because of one strain of the flu? I don’t think so. Context is important. Practices and countermeasures exist to combat the flu. We need to apply them properly. We also need good...

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Insights for Enhanced Physical and Environmental Decontamination Mar 17, 2020

I don’t understand why people are hoarding toilet paper! While valuable, this has never been highlighted as an essential item on any of the emergency preparedness plans I’ve ever seen or created. A respiratory illness should not cause people to hoard toilet paper so much that an...

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An Abundance of Caution Mar 11, 2020

I have a few insights about COVID-19 based on specialized training from my past (thank you Army), but I am no expert. Many great epidemiologists and virologists at the CDC, WHO, and elsewhere who are working to find answers. They are going to be the best source of information and...

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CMMC Promotes Maturity to Improve Cybersecurity in the Supply Chain classllc cmmc cybersecurity nist ronross sap Mar 02, 2020

The upcoming SAP Aerospace & Defense Innovation Days provide a great opportunity to connect with the world’s leading A&D manufacturers. I am honored and excited to take the stage next Wednesday with my dear friend Anne Marie Columbo to help participants understand the...

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