Cybersecurity Strategies Executive Workshop

The Cybersecurity Strategies Executive Workshop is a high-energy, facilitated experience that provides you cutting-edge insights into the intricacies of cybersecurity. You gain the tools you need to lead and manage your business amid the constant onslaught of cyberattacks. We help translate the technological underpinnings of cyberspace and cybersecurity into usable principles that will inform strategic choices and the tactical decisions that protect your company or critical infrastructure.

Critical Issues Addressed

Cyberattacks pose an unprecedented existential threat to businesses and organizations across the science and technology enterprise. Whether due to espionage, ransoms, political retribution, random acts, and outright theft of key technology, cyber attacks can cripple organizations of all sizes. The staggering number of attacks, coupled with their devastating severity, means that leaders need to act decisively to protect their interests and employees from these threats.

Today’s science and technology enterprise needs executives, senior administrators, and engineers who understand cybersecurity, can effectively build strategies to protect their business and can work collaboratively to respond when attacks occur. To do this, leaders must have the tools to make strategic decisions and to invest wisely in cybersecurity controls.

This workshop is aligned to NIST frameworks and education initiatives of the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Program Benefits

You will learn to:

• Develop a cybersecurity strategy
• Integrate cybersecurity into your operations
• Invest wisely in risk mitigation
• Create an effective team environment
• Establish effective corporate policies and investments
• Collaborate with industry and government in cybersecurity
• Respond effectively to protect your business

Key Questions Addressed

• What are the current cyber risks to our company, our products, or critical infrastructure? What scenarios are possible?
• What are we doing to manage these risks?
• What is our plan to respond to an attack? Have we pressure-tested it?
• How well informed is our executive leadership or key stakeholders in managing cyber risks and impacts?
• What are the industry best practices and standards that we should use in our cybersecurity strategy?
• How do we manage the cyber risks with our supply chain and partners?
• How is the performance of our security team evaluated?
• How can I help keep my organization out of the news for a cyber breach?

DAY 1

Case: Cold War Hacking: Examine one of the first cyber attacks from 40 years ago to understand its similarity to cyber attacks of today.

Mapping Out the Technology Landscape of Cyberspace

• Understanding the five dimensions of cyberspace: hardware, software, data, networks, and people
• Identifying the most critical information technology in your enterprise so it can be effectively protected

Case: Dissecting Malware: Uncover the inner workings of cyberattacks to better defend against them.

Dissecting the Anatomy of Cyber Attacks

• Avoiding hacker information-gathering to stop hackers at the first step
• Demystifying botnets and denial of service
• Outlining the elements of malware and how it works so that your organization can eliminate vulnerabilities to malware 
• Preventing social engineering and personnel manipulation through training and awareness

Case: The Cat-and-Mouse Game of Attack and Defense: Learn the back and forth tactics between offense and defense through the evolution of one of the most notorious worms of all time.

Implementing Tools for Effective Cyber Defense

• Establishing identity and access to prevent unauthorized access to critical information
• Sustaining and maintaining large enterprises to keep pace with evolving threats
• Protecting information systems and communication lines with effective technology and processes
• Responding to incidents to contain damage and mitigate impacts

Exercise: Game On, Offense vs. Defense: Make cybersecurity investments and experience how effective they are in defending your business against adversaries through this hands-on exercise.

DAY 2

Case: Attacked from the Inside: Protect your business from insiders by examining motivations, methods, and vulnerabilities of insider attacks.

Integrating Cybersecurity into Business Operations

• Training and securing personnel to protect your organization's number one vulnerability: people
• Collaborating with industry and government in cybersecurity to expand your resources for fighting off attacks
• Securing a supply chain to prevent vulnerabilities and attacks from flowing downstream into your products or IT systems

Case: Cybercrime or Cyber War?: Navigate the tangled web of laws, authorities, responsibilities, and legal responses to cyber attacks.

Navigating the Legal Landscape of Cyberspace

• Understanding legal authority and liability in cyberspace to create effective corporate policies
• Limiting commercial liability from cyberattacks through proactive risk mitigation
• Creating effective privacy controls and policies to protect the innocent from malicious attacks

Case: The Cybercrime Economy: Learn the value criminals put on your data to help prioritize where to invest in cyber defense.

Building Effective Strategies to Secure Your Business

• Prioritizing cost/risk tradeoffs in cybersecurity operations to focus decision-making
• Investing wisely in cyber defense, response and risk mitigation
• Building a comprehensive strategy with industry best practices

Exercise: Strategic Choices: Prepare your business to succeed in the face of cyberattacks by developing a strategy using the tools and frameworks from the course.

Who should attend

Executives, directors and senior managers will gain the foundational knowledge necessary to make informed decisions regarding cybersecurity. Participants are expected to have a basic understanding of information systems.

Special Features

You will receive methods, tools, and frameworks to apply to your technology-driven organization. The methods are derived from best practices developed after years of experience in government and commercial cybersecurity. Tools are provided to help guide strategic decision making and investments. Frameworks will be provided to help structure a holistic cybersecurity program to make a business more resilient in the face of evolving cyber threats.

Program Leader

Dr. Donald Robinson