How can you create a cybersecurity team that adapts to change?

Without support from the C-Suite and senior executive leadership, it will be a challenge to develop an adaptive security team. Changes come in many forms - organizational, business-functional, technical, as well as physical. It requires a team effort from the entire organization to not only adapt to, but embrace, the change. If the cybersecurity team sees that security and privacy are neglected or excluded from organizational change discussions, their motivation to secure the organization (as well as the organization's customers and clients) will wane and they will look for greener pastures. Involve, Include, and Consult your security team as part of your change journey and watch them adapt to and embrace it.

I'd add a section Learn your organization business requirements Cybersecurity team should be aware about business goals and objective of their company. It is important from both security and compliance perspectives. The selection of skills, tools, methodology depends on the understanding and alignment with the business goals. And the team should have a way to react fast not only on changes in the cybersecurity and technology landscape, but also shifts in the business and market models.

Adapt a Sociotechnical & Systems perspective that integrates the best ideas from other disciplines and domains and pops the Cyber (and Risk Management) Bubble! An approach is described in Gene Kim and Steven Spear's latest book from from the IT Revolution Press, Wiring the Winning Organization.

Create a adaptable cybersecurity team by prioritizing a culture of continuous learning and flexibility. Encourage cross-training to ensure team members are versatile in various security domains. Foster collaboration and open communication to share insights and expertise. Provide ongoing training opportunities to keep the team updated on emerging threats and technologies. Instill a proactive mindset that embraces change, and regularly review and update processes to align with evolving security landscapes.

In creating a dynamic cybersecurity team, the initial step involves a thorough evaluation of current capabilities, leveraging frameworks like the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. This assessment should extend beyond technical competencies to encompass team culture and communication dynamics, which are pivotal in adapting to fast-paced changes in the cybersecurity landscape. This holistic assessment helps in pinpointing areas needing enhancement, ensuring the team is robust not just in skills but also in adaptability and collaboration, key traits for responding to evolving threats.

Goals need to align to business priorities. A couple things that need to be considered: - Understand what is important for the business (assets, identities, priorities) - Align and get buy-in from the leadership and the mid-level managers to execute collectively on a single plan - Build a result-oriented program - what are you improving, impact to the business - Address the resources and investment required for the success of the program - Focus on execution with these goals and priorities in mind and continuously measure and benchmark.

Expressing a clear vision of the objectives and clearly defining goals and priorities for your cybersecurity team is the first crucial step in shaping their purpose and direction. Laying these out will help your team understand how they can impact the change and what their primary focus should be. Encouraging your team to ask questions and voice concerns is equally important. When training is required, ensure that the team has access to the appropriate resources and the necessary support.

The indicators should represent the trends rather than point in time metrics, which will help to assess the progress. You also should a define a few processes of the review and adjustments of the goals and objectives: - on going, according to the progress and resources status - periodical, to align the potential changes in direction and requirements on organization level - emergent, in case of significant external interruption

Setting clear, strategic goals for the cybersecurity team, aligned with the broader organizational mission, is crucial. This involves prioritizing objectives based on the evolving cyber threat environment and organizational risk appetite. Establishing specific, measurable targets guides the team's focus, enabling a more agile response to emerging challenges. Prioritization helps in resource allocation, ensuring urgent and high-impact areas receive the attention they deserve in a landscape where threats and technologies constantly evolve.

Again, I think this should be step #1. How can you assess a team's ability to change if you don't know what the change requirements are? Define these requirements, be explicit on those, and then assess the team against those requirements. This is what will shed light on the gaps.

Hire for ethics, creativity and willingness to learn. Then look for technical skillsets based on the specific job at hand. The higher in the organization, the more "soft skills" are important and will be important.

Considering the shortage of cybersecurity professionals, we should be more open for entry-level candidates and consider the potential and attitude versus skills which can be developed later as well as support cross-discipline movements.

Building a team that thrives on change necessitates a blend of diverse talent. Diversity here extends beyond technical prowess to include varied backgrounds and soft skills, fostering a rich breeding ground for innovation and creative problem-solving. In cybersecurity, where unconventional threats are the norm, a team with diverse perspectives is invaluable. Continuous training and upskilling keep the team abreast of the latest threats and technologies, ensuring their capabilities evolve as rapidly as the cybersecurity field itself.

"Implement agile [...] processes" - is the team aware of what those are and how they look? This is a bit tricky as some teams are NOT running agile so they need a method and approach to doing this, rather than just motivation

Agility and collaboration are the bedrocks of a responsive cybersecurity team. Adopting agile methodologies in project and task management enhances the team's ability to respond swiftly and effectively to new threats. Utilizing collaborative tools fosters a seamless flow of information and ideas, crucial in a field where threats can emerge rapidly and from unexpected quarters. This approach ensures the team is not just responsive but also proactive, anticipating and mitigating risks in a collaborative manner.

Yes!! This is not a one-size-fits-all approach though. More formal processes will be needed for larger and more mature organizations. This is also about making sure that tribal knowledge gets managed -- captured, documented, disseminated, validated, improved etc.

Make the case for change, help your people understand thier role in it, and support the learning they need to succeed through the change.

When I was at Gartner, we noticed that the lower churn and turnaround was from organizations that were rotating staff between several functions -- security analyst, security engineer and threat hunter. It was also a great way to minimize/remove the "us versus them" syndrome.

Fostering a learning culture is a huge benefit no matter what the situation. When looking at how training can impact change management, a team that has multiple avenues of training will absolutely be more flexible in their response. Rather than only focusing on an immediate challenge to create a learning opportunity, having constant learning efforts will provide a low-pressure environment to broaden a team’s skillset. Then when there is a critical challenge, the previous learnings can be applied to the task quickly.

Cultivating a learning-centric and innovative culture is fundamental for a cybersecurity team. In a domain where threat actors continually devise new attack methodologies, encouraging experimentation and continuous learning within the team is vital. Recognizing both successes and failures as learning opportunities fosters a growth mindset, crucial for navigating the complex and ever-changing cybersecurity landscape. This culture of innovation and continuous improvement ensures the team remains on the cutting edge of cybersecurity defenses.

I have done couple of times. My view of setting up a cybersecurity team in an organisation: - Understand the objective, culture, priorities, budget - Build strategy and plan for 30, 60, 90 and 180 days roadmap for your team and take buy in from leadership and key stakeholders - Hire right skills people..more hands-on even if you have to wait for longer time - Hire mix set of people experienced, energetic and team players - Lead them, guide them and motivate them and not micro-manage - Let them own the tasks, help them to grow, enable them - Remove their blockers - Keep the objective clear and help them - Provide them right tools and help them to acquire / enhance their skills

Building a cybersecurity team that is adaptable to change involves a combination of strategic planning, fostering a culture of continuous learning, and cultivating the right skills and mindset. * Define precise objectives aligned with the organization's cybersecurity strategy to lay a foundation for agile responses to changing circumstances. * Foster a culture of continuous learning by encouraging team members to stay updated on evolving threats and technologies through training and certifications. * Promote cross-training in cybersecurity areas to ensure versatility and adaptability to changing project requirements.

To create a cyber security team that adapts to changes, you can follow these steps: 1. Determine the team's composition 2. Hire skilled professionals 3. Foster continuous learning 4. Promote a culture of knowledge sharing 5. Develop a robust training program 6. Foster awareness and vigilance 7. Stay up-to-date with technology and threat landscape 8. Establish strong partnerships 9. Regularly assess and enhance team capabilities 10. Encourage innovation By implementing these steps, you can build a cyber security team that can adapt to changes effectively, ensuring your organization remains protected against emerging threats.

A gr8 team first needs to stay committed to staying ahead of evolving threats. Also, instill a security-first culture within the organization. Next, comes hiring right talent, cross-functional collaboration and continuous learning spirit. Finally, leadership guidance and mentorship is crucial for success.

What are the current risks within the business? Is it technology risks of IT not rolling out secure protocols or patching? Is it challenging to keep up with social engineering attempts at company? Or physical security risks? Is it compliance needs that need to be boosted up? Understand your employees strengths, weakness, but more importantly passions within cybersecurity to create Primary & Secondary duties with overlaps so that all domains are covered with redundancy in case an employee quits who has keys to the kingdom. Incorporate ALL departments to find liaisons who can provide high level infosec support & meet monthly. Find the root cause of the risks that are CURRENTLY deployed in the reality of the corporate infrastructure