Monica Verma

AI & Board advisor; 3 x CISO; Keynote Speaker; Help you go from chaos to resilience in AI, Cyber and Leadership (sign up👇) | Went from hacker to CISO in 4 yrs

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

To succeed as a CISO, you need to learn how to manage expectations of employees, customers, business, board… in terms of what security level they can get within the real constraints like resource, time, budget… without destroying usability, user experience, behavior & culture (because those are key for success) vs. what is really needed in terms of controls, measures, behavior, culture etc. to manage the threats and risks effectively for the org. At the same time not every battle is worth picking but you need to pick the “right battles” that brings security forward and moves the needle forward, as well as the much needed skill and ability to negotiate on those “battles” including behavior and cultural changes that are needed to support a more security aware workforce whilst still maintaining user experience and security as per risk and threat. This is your day to day as a CISO, among many other types of expectations management and negotiations…

cc: @jayl4puri and others who might be wondering

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Being a CISO is 90% expectations management and negotiation with your stakeholders.

[Google Cloud UK & Ireland @GoogleCloud_UKI]

Monica Verma is a global cybersecurity expert, who believes threat management starts with people. When everyone understands their cybersecurity role, that’s how to reduce risks. It’s not about the right tools. It’s about shared knowledge and a shared agenda. @MonTalksCyber

[Google Cloud UK & Ireland @GoogleCloud_UKI]

They left 2 years ago. But could they still have access? Expert CISO @montalkscyber has some simple but essential advice: take a look at your company’s offboarding process. You could be amazed who can still get onto your system. What’s on your cybersecurity task list for today?

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

@001Gutiee @sisinerd Thank you for the shout-out. 🙏

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Luck finds you faster when you're focused on putting in the work.

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Only if I had a penny for every time a vendor said that they are 100% secure, I would be a millionaire. Add NextGen to that, and I'd already be a billionaire. Add AI-enabled to that, and I'd probably become the first trillionaire. Who knows!

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

5 ways to become a better CISO:
1. Care about your users
2. Build a non-blame culture
3. Throw away jargons in the bin
4. Understand your business' POV
5. Master the art of comm. & negotiation

What would you add?

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

The ability to be resilient and bounce back from adversity is the greatest trait of a successful CISO and leader.

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

That's a wrap!

If you enjoyed this thread:

1. Follow me @MonTalksCyber for more of these
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[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Being a first-time CISO is hard!
Everything takes 2x time and 3x making mistakes (eventually learnt the hard way). But you don't have to...

7 lessons I wish I knew before my first CISO gig to help first-time security leaders keep moving forward and succeed! 🧵👇

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Being a first-time CISO is hard!
Everything takes 2x time and 3x making mistakes (eventually learnt the hard way). But you don't have to...

7 lessons I wish I knew before my first CISO gig to help first-time security leaders keep moving forward and succeed! 🧵👇

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Great communication is:

- Tailored to the audience
- Relevant to the stakeholders
- Timely and accurate to their needs

Otherwise you are just spamming them. Here you can read the 7 lessons in details (with real CISO stories):

https://t.co/cqYOz0bcaN

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

As a CISO, more than 90% of your job is expectations management and negotiation. Not every battle is worth it. Save your time and energy for the battles worth it. Knowing what is worth negotiating is even more important than knowing how to negotiate. Pick your battles wisely.

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Hot take: If you want to be a successful security leader, get comfortable with taking and understanding criticism.

You want your stakeholders and your team poke holes in your ideas and solutions faster than cyberattackers can.

[Monica Verma @MonTalksCyber]

Unpopular opinion: AI-enabled is NOT the solution to everything.