Are you ready to become the ultimate Security Champion? Here is how it can add value to the security ecosystem of your organization
Security Champions are not longer good-to-have, but are now must-have

Are you ready to become the ultimate Security Champion? Here is how it can add value to the security ecosystem of your organization

In the world of software development, "security" is no longer a buzz word but has now become essential. Modern product development practices dictate that security be integrated throughout the entire product development lifecycle. Security should be kept in mind right from initial design phase to final deployment and maintenance stages. This is absolutely critical to ensure that the core principles of confidentiality, integrity, robustness and resilience are implemented within the product and gives confidence to end users for safe software usage. Identifying and mitigating potential security risks and vulnerabilities, implementing security controls, and testing the product is mandatory to ensure it is of the highest security quality before release. The security community within an organization consists of developers, architects, managers, testers, QA, and many other roles. In an ideal scenario, all of these roles are required to have foundational experience and knowledge of security concepts. But this is mostly not possible and also not feasible. Enter Security Champion.


WHO IS A SECURITY CHAMPION?

A Security champions is an employee within an organization, who voluntarily takes on the roles and responsibilities of ensuring that security due diligence is embedded within the product development lifecycle. They are trained and empowered to promote a culture of security within their teams. They act as the first line of defense, identifying and addressing potential security risks, and educating their team on best practices for information security. It is prudent to have an existing member of the team play the role of a security champion. This maybe anyone on the team - a developer, a team lead, a product manager, a Director, etc. There is no fixed guidance on WHO should be a security champion, as long as they have the interest and passion to execute the roles and responsibilities of the champion.

 

WHAT ARE THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF A SECURITY CHAMPION?

The roles and responsibilities of a security champion can vary depending on the specific needs of an organization, domain within which the product operates, technologies used, etc. But most commonly, it includes:

  • Security champions play a crucial role in protecting organizations from risks and threats, by creating increased security awareness within their teams. They drive engagement in security issues, as well as improve the overall security posture of the organization.
  • Champions serve as a vital link between the central security team and their own teams, ensuring that everyone is working towards a common security goal.
  • It is desirable that Security Champions are subject matter experts on security within their teams. This ensures that they serve as the first point of contact for all security-related questions or concerns within their team. For more advanced security issues, Champions are advised to contact the central security teams for assistance.
  • At any given time, there could be multiple security items that are required to be addressed and it may not be possible to address all of them simultaneously. Hence, prioritizing security backlogs is an important task of a Security Champion. Subsequently, it is essential to track them to closure.
  • Security champions help to identify potential security threats and vulnerabilities within their areas of responsibility, and report them to the appropriate teams for investigation and resolution. Additionally, they may be called upon to assist in responding to security incidents.
  • Champions ensure that security requirements are factored-in early during product development and provide timely inputs to address potential future risks. This will help avoid any blockers at the time of product release.
  • Regularly review and monitor the product's security posture, identify gaps and take appropriate action to mitigate any risks.
  • Provide guidance and support to other team members to help them understand the importance of security and why it should be prioritized.

 

WHAT ARE THE PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED IN RUNNING A SECURITY CHAMPION PROGRAM?

Security Champions are not immune to the challenges faced by full-time security professionals. In reality, there are a wide variety of problems which plague the Security Champion program. It is prudent to be aware of these problems and take a more realistic approach towards the idea of having Security Champions within the organization.

Security Champions are existing members of a team, who in addition to their core day-to-day role, also take on the responsibilities of a Security Champion. This can sometimes lead to issues or friction during the lifecycle of a Security Champion within the organization. Due to the extra role, it is sometimes viewed as "extra work" for a team member, which may lead to resentment or disapproval by management. Management may sometimes not initially see the intrinsic value of having a Security Champion and hence may not support such a setup. Management might also view it as a redundancy or overhead, when they already have an existing central security team to do the job. Further, there may not exist established clarity on what is expected from a security champion, leading to confusion and non-alignment of various stakeholders.

Security Champions may not have the required tools, technologies and data to help support their role or on the other hand, they may become overwhelmed with vast amount of data - both of which do not help. Add to that, Champions may not have the necessary training and knowledge in order to interpret security objectives. It could also be the case that the training program offered by the organization may be inadequate in meeting needs. This may eventually lead to lack of participation and interest from the Security Champions.

In some cases, Security champions are forcefully nominated. This may result in lack of effectiveness of the role and thereby increases cost and effort due to improper due diligence by the nominated Security Champion. Due to the forced nature of role, Champions may resort to passing the buck and ducking security responsibilities. Churn is also an important factor, since existing Security Champions may opt out of it or move to another team or leave the organization. All this increases load on the central security team to unnecessarily invest additional efforts to close such gaps and inefficiencies.

 

HOW TO MAKE THE SECURITY CHAMPION PROGRAM MORE EFFECTIVE?

Merely having a Security Champion program is only half the battle won. There have been instances where this program has failed, stagnated or become ineffective. Therefore it is important to focus on these key elements below, to ensure the success of the Champion program.

Management should lead by example and demonstrate a strong commitment to security, by actively supporting the Champion program. The organization should create an environment where Security Champions feel comfortable reporting security incidents or concerns without fear. A clear charter that outlines the company's expectations for Security Champions and how this specific program is setup within the organization should be established. The organization's security posture should be regularly monitored and reviewed, and the Security Champion program should also be correspondingly updated. As the organization evolves, so do the security risks and the security champions need to be aware of the changes to be able to adapt and protect the company's assets.

Regular and frequent collaboration are required between Security Champions and central security teams to discuss on various security topics which impact product development. Security Champions should be provided with regular training, awareness and education on security best practices, latest developments, organization standards, etc Sometimes these trainings could be specialized to meet a specific need or to address a particular gap. Additionally, it also helps to have Security Champion meet-ups within the organization, which provides a platform for Champions to interact, share and collaborate on common problems.

It is of the highest importance that Security Champions be involved in early stages of product development to ensure visibility and adherence of security. Security Champions should be adequately recognized and rewarded for their role in promoting security within their teams. Security Champions should be provided with the tools, resources and support needed to maximize their role as security advocates. These could be in the form of dashboards, alerts and notifications for call to action, etc Security champions must be timely recipients of security bulletins and communications, which will help security reach all levels of the organization. It is advisable to have a backup Security Champion to avoid single point of failure, enable load-sharing and ensure continuity of role in cases of exigencies. Security Champions can receive immense support if security is made a part of the organizational culture and everyone understands the importance of security

 

WHY SHOULD YOU HAVE A SECURITY CHAMPION PROGRAM?

There is no doubt that Security Champions add immense value to the security program and greatly determine the success of the security effectiveness of an organization. Security Champions help to make the organization's security program more effective & enable trickle-down effect of taking security to all levels of the organization. They have greater buy-in and participation in security initiatives, as they voluntarily take ownership and be invested in security with their active involvement. They create increased awareness and understanding of security risks and best practices among employees. Champions help to utilize organization resources more effectively and save costs by proactively addressing security issues in initial phases rather than later. Security champions can enable their team on what to do in the event of a security incident and thus help to minimize the impact of any breaches.

Central security teams focus more on the technical side and may not be fully aware of the business side of things. Champions help to incorporate product and business angle to make security more contextual and relevant in the process of product development. Moreover, Champions being existing members of teams bring a wealth of knowledge about history of the product which will serve as useful insights to security teams. This greatly reduce time taken to address and resolve security incidents and issues. Since security champions would have established contacts with other dependent stakeholders, they help to overcome friction by using their good-will and easing the pain of collaboration. Champions help to build greater trust between product teams and central security teams, since security champion is part of the product team and product team easily trusts the champion as compared to an "outside" central security team member. Security champions behave as eyes and ears on the ground for the central security teams to be able to function more effectively. Champions are important catalysts and agents to provide feedback on security policies & programs, which ultimately helps in fine-tuning them.

Security Champions function as a single point of contact (SPOC) for many stakeholders within the organization, like their own product team, central security team, compliance, privacy, risk management, etc Everyone is aware of a known contact & this makes communication and collaboration easier, while reducing confusion and ambiguity. They also provide valuable aid in other key activities like audits, compliance, certifications, responding to customer queries, enabling sales, etc. Thus, Champions act as lubricant to keep the security machinery running smoothly.

Upskilling of Security Champions through continuous learning and exam certifications reduce dependencies on central security team, thereby allowing central teams to focus on more important enterprise issues. Champions also reduce stress on their own product team, since not everyone is expected to be very knowledgeable about security and there is one designated Security Champion to do the job.

 

In summary, it is pertinent to note that Security Champions play a quintessential role in furthering the security goals and objective of an organization. Management commitment is required to initiate, implement and sustain the Security Champion program. It requires vision, foresight and a long-term investment to be able to reap security benefits which are permanent in nature. This takes time, patience and efforts, but ultimately results in improving security maturity and reducing risk posture of the organization. Security Champions are the unsung heroes, who inevitably help to break silos within the organization. They help in creating a culture of security and empowering their teams to become more security-aware. Champions are vital in the ongoing fight against cybercrime and they aid in staying vigilant and proactive in protecting against cyber threats.

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