What is the best way to keep your cybersecurity team and stakeholders' skills sharp?

Cyber Security should always have a strong voice with stakeholders. This allows for the passage of knowledge from the cyber security team to the stakeholders on various topic such as risks as well as security awareness. Stakeholders can help the cyber security team understand the business risk and the cyber security team can help the stakeholders understand technical risks, which will allow for better educated decisions to be made.

Cybersecurity truly is one of the most collaborative knowledge worker professions. We can act as project managers and communicate risks but one of the most important aspect for us all is the coaching/mentoring and training sharing what we are constantly learning ourselves with the mindset of protecting people and information assets in our custody. This requires a cadence because it is never a one and done session. It is what I love - an ever changing conversation with new people and new topics.🙏

In the rapidly evolving domain of cybersecurity, a significant challenge facing the development of a skilled workforce is the reluctance of many aspiring professionals to delve deep into foundational knowledge. There's a growing tendency to bypass the basics of networking, protocols, and root-level coding, with many opting to dive directly into the more glamorous high-level aspects of the profession. This approach, however, results in a shallow understanding that can lead to vulnerabilities in cybersecurity practices. Mastery of the fundamentals ensures a robust defense, as it provides a comprehensive understanding of the systems in place and how potential threats can exploit them.

To ensure your cybersecurity team and stakeholders stay on top of their game, prioritise ongoing learning. Offer access to training, webinars, and conferences to keep everyone up-to-date. Encourage certifications and host internal knowledge-sharing sessions to share insights. Conduct security drills to practice incident responses. Additionally, engage stakeholders in security discussions and keep them informed about emerging threats and best practices. A proactive, curious mindset is essential for both the team and stakeholders to adapt to evolving challenges, collectively fortifying your organisation's security posture.

Cybersecurity embodies an adventurous spirit, urging us to explore the unknown, embrace open-mindedness, and acknowledge that diligent effort can render everything susceptible to hacking. In my cybersecurity journey, I've encountered unfamiliar web technologies and protocols, each demanding rapid learning to exploit vulnerabilities within tight timeframes. This perspective reveals that no one starts with comprehensive knowledge. Instead, we evolve by tackling challenges, accumulating valuable experience. Cybersecurity is a dynamic field where adaptability, continuous learning, and the relentless pursuit of expertise define our path to success

To maintain strong cybersecurity skills: Promote continuous learning. Encourage cross-training. Use red team exercises and CTF challenges. Simulate real security incidents. Share threat intelligence. Provide tool-specific training. Offer security awareness training. Conduct mock drills. Create professional development plans. Foster a security culture. Allocate a training budget. Network and stay informed.

Understanding the evolving threat landscape and staying abreast of current technologies is imperative to maintain a competitive edge. Offering relevant certifications and training ensures that individuals remain updated and proficient. Engaging stakeholders and educating them about organizational risks is pivotal in garnering their support for the organization.

A clear personal development plan is crucial to maintaining a skilled cyber security team in this ever evolving cyber risk landscape, Cyber security specialists will have to be intentional about understanding new threat landscape. Again, Cyber security is everybody’s business, stakeholders and the entire workforce will have to be continuously trained on the basics of identifying cyber security incident triggers. An example is phishing simulation campaigns, where stakeholders are trained and tested to identify the different forms of phishing and social engineering in general.

In my experience this all comes down to passion. To be successful in the cybersecurity field you must have a passion for learning. You will never know everything even if you specialize. You must approach your career with the understanding that you will always need to learn new skills and understand your current skills at a deeper and more verbose level. For leaders it is imperative that you communicate the need for continuous learning in your team and secure the funds to make that a reality.

In the realm of cybersecurity, the pursuit of comprehensive knowledge upfront is a daunting endeavor, a lifetime's work. Instead, prioritize mastering the fundamentals. A solid foundation, like understanding the OWASP Top 10 vulnerabilities, empowers you to grasp any technique in the future. It all starts with recognizing what a vulnerability truly is.

It is not easy to plan as tech evolves rapidly and, as a result, the perpetrator’s skill. This is precisely where creativity in the cyber world is measured. Don't be fixated. You set yourself goals, and that's it; don't move from the plan you set for yourself. Be flexible in your way of thinking. Yes, draw a leading axis for yourself; today, I implement cyber defense, and tomorrow, I want to become a CISO. Choosing courses that broaden your horizons is always better, i.e., your employer uses a firewall from one vendor and sends you to be certified for it. At the same time, find yourself a course from a competing vendor to get to know the industry and understand how other manufacturers deal with the same protection challenges.

One of my major learning paths that have kept my skills current is to attend strategic conference workshops. This allows for total immersion in the product and or vendor, as well as getting education/certs/information directly from the source so I can maximize the take aways that I can apply to myself and my business.

The plan is the keyword here. Many people or organization has yet to plan or idea where they are going. Building your cyber security skills portfolio is like building a house - you can only build a roof with a wall. You need some basic skills before you go to an advanced topic. And if you have no idea where you are going, it means you are going nowhere. Imagine that you found a nice word like SOC analyst, and you spent months trying to learn those skills, and then you found out that it's something different and tedious than you thought... That's why it's important to spend some time planning before you make any decision. It could save many days of your life.

In my view, planning your learning path is essential for skill development. It's like setting a roadmap to success. Key points to consider: Clear Goals: Whether it's mastering a new programming language or becoming proficient in threat analysis, having clear objectives helps keep you focused. Resource Selection: Different people learn best through various methods, so pick what suits your learning style – be it online courses, books, or mentorship. Budget & Time: Consider your budget for courses, books, or subscriptions, and allocate time for learning in your daily or weekly schedule. Measure Progress: This can be done through self-assessments, quizzes, or project completion. Celebrate achievements along the way to stay motivated.

In my experience it's kind of difficult to stay up to date in each topic, basically because for cybersecurity you should have knowledge in many technologies from Networking, Administration, Risk, etc. It's important to understand which area you want to be get specialize and create a learning path accordignly. That doesn't mean that you can not change your learning paths in the way to professional grow but you need to understand where your passion is.

The Cyber Aspirants are trying to run against time like tech specialists, causing too much dent on their career. Planning is essentially composite with a medium that aspirant is comfortable along with methods of learning, in cyberspace the statistics were skewed towards LEARNERS then CERTIFIED in one domain (like Risk and compliance) and reversed in other domains (like Vul assessment and mitigation). However the beauty of the stream is both co-existed seamlessly, success is achieved by those who PLANNED the path wisely. LEARNERS invest time and CERTIFIED invests money and time both. Planning is important here not only for the time, cost, role but also for the place aspirants are looking for.

Encourage team members to pursue certifications such as CISSP, CISM, CEH, or others relevant to their roles. Invest in regular training and workshops to keep everyone up to date on the latest cybersecurity threats and defense strategies. Consider providing access to online learning platforms, cybersecurity courses, and webinars.

Within the expansive realm of cybersecurity, striving to amass all-encompassing knowledge right from the beginning may appear daunting, akin to embarking on a lifelong commitment. Instead, prioritize the refinement of your expertise in the fundamentals. Establishing a sturdy foundation, including developing a profound grasp of networking and vulnerabilities, equips you to confidently approach more advanced concepts in the future.

Leverage available tools that can afford you to use them without them having to do too much. E.g TryhackMe, HackTheBox, major CSPs give out free subscriptions access to their tools . Tools like ELK cloud, Azure, Google GCP etc.

A Cyber Warfare Simulation Range holds immense value as it provides a controlled environment for organizations to simulate and assess their cybersecurity defenses. This hands-on training platform allows cybersecurity professionals to practice responding to realistic cyber threats, enhancing their skills and readiness. Moreover, these simulations enable organizations to identify vulnerabilities in their systems, test incident response plans, and ultimately strengthen their overall resilience against evolving cyber threats. Lucky to have one of the top ones here in Arizona or you can create your own sandbox.

In the dynamic realm of cybersecurity, theoretical knowledge alone falls short. Practical application is paramount, as concepts learned but left unpracticed often fade into obscurity. Cybersecurity bridges theory and practice, two distinct realms. The path to mastery follows a cycle: Learn, practice, report, and learn again. This iterative journey is best exemplified by bug bounty programs, where lessons are honed through countless iterations. My own odyssey saw 200 rejected reports at Bugcrowd before my first triumph, a testament to the perseverance required in this field.

My experience showed me several times that one doesn’t know how to identify a cyber incident (not just an attack) until it is too late. Prefer a simulation that emulates your current work environment. Do It in your sandbox or a cyber range, whatever works for you, but bear in mind it must be realistic. What good it will do if you practice with Windows while your Crown Jewels are within a Linux environment?

Like I said in the "Assess your current skills" section, practicing's the skills is more important as it will compel you to think and apply the compliance concepts across an organization. This will in turn help you understand your current level of skill basis which a learning plan can be developed. Foundations is the key in cybersecurity.

Conduct tabletop exercises and simulation drills based on real-world scenarios. This helps team members practice incident response and decision-making. Evaluate performance and use these exercises as learning opportunities to improve processes and procedures.

Actually to practice your skill always pose a challenge between Technology and Business skills. They are NOT the same BUT they need to be hand-by-hand to have a complete skillset in Cyber.

Set up a safe lab environment for hands-on practice. Engage in CTFs and challenges for practical scenarios. Use interactive tutorials and labs from platforms like Cybrary, TryHackMe. Contribute to open-source projects and join the community. Participate in CTF competitions to enhance problem-solving. Create personal projects aligned with your interests. Network, collaborate, and stay updated with the evolving field. Track progress and seek feedback to improve consistently.

CTF competitions are a great way to practice your skills against other cybersecurity professionals, and they can also help you learn new skills and techniques.

Cybersecurity now must transcend the traditional courses in stuffy meeting rooms. Cultivate a culture of cybersecurity awareness by leveraging an AI-driven platform that takes a holistic approach to cybersecurity!

Federating cybersecurity skills is crucial to empowering organisations. Organisations tend to keep these skills centralised which can frustrate the business and slow things down. Building cybersecurity skills broadly across an organisation helps people to understand the role they play towards good security outcomes and make better decisions. Security departments should not be gatekeepers. They should fundamentally be coaching and mentoring people in an organisation to develop these skills.

I think this is VERY important, for multiple reasons. First, teaching the knowledge you have gain, helps reinforce these skills. Additionally, the passion and excite me you share with other will help provide them with the motivation to attempt to learn more. Many cybersecurity professionals feel it is their responsibility to give back to the community, this can provide an avenue for you to cultivate a stronger more equitable community.

Another essential aspect of cybersecurity is giving back to the community. Mentoring individuals in cybersecurity has not only allowed me to share knowledge but has also served as a catalyst for sharpening my own skills and deepening my expertise. To further support those embarking on their cybersecurity journey, I've dedicated time to crafting informative blogs on Medium. Sharing skills and assisting others is a fundamental tenet of my cybersecurity philosophy.

Don't only share your skills, share your threats! By joining Keepnet Labs' trusted threat-sharing communities, organizations can stay ahead of potential threats, preventing advanced attacks more efficiently and resulting in potential savings of up to $2.3 million.

It's one of the most essential parts of growth in this industry. Sharing means we retain knowledge and competition. Sometimes, the audience will help you correct your knowledge if it's wrong, and we have a great chance to discuss this knowledge in different aspects. When I formed a team in my previous jobs, cross-sharing was the culture I established across teams; people can find value in each other, remain curious about each other's primary, and respect each other.

I believe coaching and mentoring add better value than courses, education or simply telling people how do do something. Give your team members a challenge and let them go and investigate the issue themselves, encourage them to feedback and guide but let them learn from the paths and rabbit holes they go down. They will come back with more questions than answers which is a great way to evolve knowledge and skills by using that feedback to ascertain if it's relevant in the organisation and to set another challenge.

Decentralize organizational knowledge. Having senior security members mentor and teach junior staff helps ensure that core knowledge isn't lost when people inevitably transition. Sharing skills is often mutually beneficial. AccessCyber.co

Being a member of a cyber security association is a great way to share information through chapter meetings and conferences. Sharing through online forums is another great way.

Build a website or LinkedIn profile to showcase your expertise. Contribute to open-source projects on GitHub. Write insightful blogs and articles to share knowledge. Engage in cybersecurity communities and discussions. Present at webinars, conferences, or conduct workshops. Create video tutorials to explain cybersecurity concepts. Participate and share experiences from CTF competitions. Engage on social media, sharing insights and networking. Collaborate with peers and mentor newcomers in the field. Request recommendations to bolster your credibility. Please stay updated and adapt to the changing cybersecurity landscape.

If you find a new vulnerability with a device or within your own system, chances are you aren't the only one with that vulnerability. Getting involved in a cybersecurity community to share your findings is one of the most impactful things you can do in this field. Your information could help an organization mitigate a looming attack or help a fellow technician troubleshoot events and errors.

Keeping your cybersecutity knowledge uptodate is one of Key. Reading news, articles, Books.... daily basis allow to maintain skills and stay focus of subjects of the moments.

"In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, staying relevant is an ongoing commitment. Adaptation is paramount, as the field's rapid changes demand continuous skill acquisition. To remain valuable to the community, cybersecurity professionals must embrace innovation, thinking outside the box to confront emerging threats. During pentesting, encountering older firmware may provide a unique advantage. When a technique or CVE aligns with legacy systems, testing avenues become clear, simplifying the process.

Hackers are always innovating and coming up with new ways to attack. To stay ahead of the curve, it's important to think like a hacker and understand their motivations and tactics. You can do this by reading about recent attacks, participating in capture the flag (CTF) competitions, and taking ethical hacking courses. By thinking like a hacker, you can better anticipate their attacks and develop strategies to defend against them.

Introduce gamification elements into training and learning programs. Gamified challenges and competitions can make learning more engaging.

It is imperative to maintain up-to-date knowledge of contemporary trends and advancements in the realm of cybersecurity in order to sustain proficiency and efficacy within the discipline. Sustained learning, vigilant surveillance of emerging threats, and embracing a hacker's attitude are key elements in upholding a robust cybersecurity team, hence enabling their ability to adapt to an ever-changing landscape of potential risks.

Cybersecurity is a rapidly evolving field, so it's crucial to stay updated with the latest trends, threats, and technologies. Encourage continuous learning through regular professional development opportunities, staying abreast of industry news and attending relevant conferences, webinars, and seminars.

By actively participating in cybersecurity conferences and workshops, you keep your knowledge and your network up to date. The exchange with other experts is particularly worth emphasising here.

Security landscape is evolving with the advent of technology. For example, with the recent developments in AI (e.g., ChatGPT), adversaries have been using ChatGPT to be more creative with their adverial attacks (e.g., use of ChatGPT for phishing). On the other hand, the defenders of these attacks can make use of the same AI technologies for operational security, to increase the probability and speed of detection of potential attacks (e.g., ChatGPT integration in SIEM). As such, it is imperative to continuously update the skills of security professionals.

Staying updated on cybersecurity trends is not just about consuming information but also about practical application. For instance, when the concept of zero-trust security architecture was emerging, we didn't just learn about it, we implemented it, leading to a 75% reduction in successful cyberattacks. It's crucial to apply new knowledge to real-world scenarios for effective learning and skill enhancement.

We can keep cybersecurity stakeholders and teams alive by putting them on a path of continuous learning. In a dynamically evolving threat environment, it has become critical to stay up-to-date. Stakeholders need to understand the language they speak and align with each other for joint projects. In addition, the talent pool should be expanded by acquiring expertise from different domains.

Bake in learning time into their daily routine and also pay for certs. It's that easy. Simply support learning and let them do it on company time.

Cybersecurity changes so quickly so if you aren't giving your team time to learn, experiment, and test out new theories, they are already falling behind. Creating time to allow for research on and discussion of the latest threats, cross-training skillsets, and testing the newest solutions is critical. I have found that this also helps to keep my team engaged, collaborating, and on the cutting edge.

🔒 Stay ahead of cyber threats with cutting-edge cybersecurity strategy. Organisation should foster a culture of innovation, encouraging exploration of emerging technologies like AI-driven threat detection and zero-trust architectures. By partnering with cutting edge solution providers and maintaining a proactive research approach, teams can stay ahead of evolving threats. Regular evaluation and piloting of new solutions, along with comprehensive training, empower team to integrate the latest technologies seamlessly, enhancing organization's cyber resilience. #Cybersecurity #Innovation #ThreatDetection #ZeroTrustArchitecture

Continuous Training and Certification: Encourage team members to pursue relevant certifications like CISSP, CEH, or CISM. Regularly provide security training/awareness sessions to keep them updated on the latest threats and defense techniques. Regular Security Audits: Conduct security audits and assessments of organization's infrastructure and processes to identify weaknesses and areas that require improvement. Soft Skills Development: Don't overlook the importance of soft skills like communication, teamwork, and leadership, as they are crucial for effective cybersecurity incident response and risk management.

Encourage the team to question why things are done the way they are done and foster the initiative to change or improve a process. This will open doors to the development of skills, knowledge and bring value to the team as a whole.

Add to that, the “enforcement of failure recovery”. I.e. prove you can quickly recover by actually doing it, rather than leaving it to theory

I cannot stress more that you should gamify cybersecurity education for non-experts. Cybersecurity can be a daunting- and even confusing- area for many people, so remember to keep education fun and engaging. Good luck out there!

Una hoja de ruta de aprendizaje constante, dónde el reforzar capacidades por medio de la adopción y actualización de certificaciones, networking para robustecer conocimientos y competencias, sesiones de retrospectiva, workshops, paneles de discusión y mantener contacto con grupos de interés permitirá que los líderes y grupos de trabajo se mantengan al día y motivados ante el constante cambio de tecnologías y amenazas en el medio de la Ciberseguridad.

Encourage Professional Networking, Support participation in cybersecurity-related forums, forums, or online communities to facilitate networking and knowledge exchange with peers. Feedback and Performance Reviews, Provide constructive feedback during performance reviews to identify areas for skill enhancement and professional growth.