As security leaders, what if we could show the business that the things we care about and the things they care about are the same? Things like doing the work they love, making a difference to someone, protecting the reputation of the business and heading home to their families at the end of the day feeling comfortable in the knowledge their effort has made a difference. Fundamentally, they are made of the same things that we are – they are just at a different stage on the security journey with a different attitude to risk when it comes to achieving common business goals.

Some might say that attending niche groups can feel exclusionary, if you don’t feel you meet the criteria for the forum’s specific purpose. On the flipside, attending broader events with hundreds or thousands of people, often means you don’t meet one (let alone many) others in your key area of interest.

Have you ever found yourself in a new job and 6 or 8 weeks in (or maybe more), you find that the role you signed up for isn’t what you expected it to be? And I’m not talking about just an ‘oh this place is crazy’ moment. I’m talking about a deep sense of wrong. How does this happen?

Resourcefulness includes creativity, determination, curiosity, passion and resolve - qualities that so many security professionals exhibit given the right conditions. To get the outcomes we need, could our only limitation lie in how resourceful we are willing to be?

So…to all new business owners (big and small)….have you thought about information security, cyber security and privacy?

From speaking to those in my network and in my own experience, there are some actions you can take that will bring you closer to being the right fit and having a choice of security roles. Here’s my take….

I was speaking last week with Jacqui Loustau (founder of the AWSN and the most connected security person I know) about the challenges of recruiting Heads of Information Security who have ‘done the role before’. 

Remember when I said there’s a whole other blog in the value of Executive Assistants (EA's) on the path to more secure organisations? Great! As discussed, EA’s are invaluable and it cannot be understated. 

An unfortunate outcome of information fatigue is that people often become very focussed on what channels they are willing to tune into (and tune out of) to avoid complete overload. Sadly, this is also a key challenge when it comes to security awareness - with those who most need to hear your message often being tuned into other frequencies.