The Cyber Ranch Podcast Allan Alford

Howdy, y’all, and welcome to The Cyber Ranch Podcast!  Our guest today is Ankur Ahuja, 2x CISO, Ted-X Speaker, Startup Investor, Board Advisor, etc. etc.  Ankur is currently SVP and CISO at Billtrust, and he’s got some Big 4 in his DNA too (ten years, in fact!).  Ankur wanted to chat about how CISOs can drive business growth, so I asked him to come on down to the ‘Ranch and have a chat with me.
 
It's more than attending sales calls.
It's more than security questionnaires
 
Listen for some clever new tips on driving business growth!
 

Melanie Ensign is a communications strategist and corporate anthropologist for cybersecurity, privacy, and risk organizations.  She is founder and CEO of Discernible, a multi-disciplinary Center of Excellence for security, privacy, & risk teams. Her team includes experts in communications, product development and management, compliance, security and privacy engineering, and behavioral science.
Melanie is here at the 'Ranch to talk specifically about the fact that so many CISOs feel they are in organizations that simply don’t care about cybersecurity.  She’s got some good insights into this one, and it’s the perfect topic for her expertise.
Allan asks Melanie:
Allan put up a LinkedIn poll asking folks “Do you feel organizations properly prioritize cybersecurity?” The results were pretty sobering.  What are your thoughts?
Is the problem really the organization or is it us? Probably a mix of the two, or maybe one or the other depending upon the environment and the individual CISO?
Assuming it’s the organization, how can a CISO avoid such organizations in the first place? How do you vet a company for its commitment to cybersecurity?
If you find yourself in a company that does not seem to care about cybersecurity, what should be your next steps?
Allan has emphasized over the years that all CISOs are salespeople times two. We sell the problem, then we sell the solution.  Is that a fair perspective in your mind?  How many other leaders have to sell their mission in general?  I think we all end up selling specifics…
What communication skills can improve the situation for CISOs?

In this episode, Allan tackles the idea of selling the CISO mission.
He deconstructs the types of CISOs and the "selling" they must do.  Sometimes you really are selling, but most of the time you should be solving business problems.
Allan speaks to:
Business objectives met
Business risks reduced
Maturity
And also deconstructs the art of selling itself.
Hint: Business Impact Analysis is a valuable tool in this whole process.
Special thanks to Helen Patton and Melanie Ensign for prompting this exploration.
Y'all be good now!

Our guest this week is Jonathan Rau, VP and Distinguished Engineer over at Query, and a proponent of what he calls "SecDataOps".  Jonathan is quite active on LinkedIn and his takes, though often spicy, tend to be spot-on.  Allan has come to enjoy following Jonathan's posts, and he was excited to have Jonathan come on the show and share his insights.
Allan asks Jonathan, in a VERY lively conversation:
What is SecDataOps?
What is its focal point?
Who should be in charge?
What skills are required to participate?
Who has those skills?
What about the trifecta of people/process/technology?
What is wrong in the community with our approach?
Y'all be good now!

This is part two in our neurodiversity series.  Our guest roster this time also includes Dr. Ursula Alford, a psychologist who routinely works with the neurodiverse populace.
The lineup of guests covers ADHD, Autism, challenges unique to women with neurodiversity, how leaders should manage neurodivergent team members and more.
Y'all be good now!

Geoff Hancock is Deputy CEO and CISO for Access Point Consulting, Former Global Director and CISO over at World Wide Technology.  He’s also a Senior Fellow and Adjunct Professor at George Washington University and has held various C-suite and executive roles at Verizon, CGI Federal Advanced Technology, Microsoft, and Advanced Cybersecurity Group.  He is back at the 'Ranch this week to talk about CISO Communications.
Allan asks Geoff:
You say the first step is prioritizing clarity in communication. What does that mean to you?
Your next step is developing strategic storytelling. Can you elaborate on that one?
How do we enhance crisis communication?
How do we engage stakeholders proactively?
What about data? How do we leverage it in decision making?
How does one bolster their leadership presence?
How do you implement a feedback loop?
What practical tools and strategies can be utilized for effective communication?
It's a fantastic show full of great insights, and you will thoroughly enjoy listening to it.
Y'all be good now!