CIO OPINION
Ensure leadership is helping spread your cybersecurity message just as consistently as you are .
Corey Nachreiner , CSO at WatchGuard
Seven tips for building a culture of cybersecurity accountability
Cybersecurity best practices and policies should be followed by everyone within an organization , not just the leadership team . Washington-based Corey Nachreiner , CSO at WatchGuard , offers his top tips for building the most effective and resilient cybersecurity culture that ensures employees can adopt your mission .
Effective cybersecurity often boils down to doing the basics : patching , updating , not clicking suspicious links or attachments and following other day-to-day best practices for using applications and systems . However , sometimes this knowledge only stays within the network admin / cybersecurity teams and fails to make it to ‘ regular employees ’, creating a company culture that ’ s susceptible to attack rather than a culture of accountability . Below , I ’ ll discuss seven tips for building a culture of cybersecurity accountability throughout all levels of an organization .
1 . First , start with leadership . Any successful cybersecurity culture starts with the executives . The leadership team is where the organization looks for guidance . Not only will they have to approve any resource and budget you need for your program , but employees will look to them to set an example . Ensure leadership is helping spread your cybersecurity message just as consistently as you are . Examples of this could include devoting time to discussing cybersecurity during company-wide meetings , having an executive share their thoughts on upcoming training , or even a quarterly award for best cybersecurity practices . Leadership buy-in showcases that cybersecurity goes beyond the company ’ s security team .
2 . Define the mission and what ’ s at stake . While you don ’ t want to spread fear , uncertainty and doubt ( FUD ), it is important to share the importance and necessity of cybersecurity in all modern organizations . Spend time discussing the mission of your cybersecurity team and how
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