Once you\u2019ve prepared to have the discussion with your boss about cyber security, it\u2019s also good to remember exactly what your objective is. For all intents and purposes, you\u2019re now becoming a salesman (or woman) and your goal is to get your boss to buy in to what you\u2019re selling. This isn\u2019t an ask, it\u2019s a negotiation. Don\u2019t come in hoping you\u2019re going to get his support, come in confident. This is a big deal. Then demonstrate why with proven facts and numbers.<\/p>\n<\/span><\/span>\n Here are five more tips for talking to your boss about cybersecurity.<\/p>\n As you start this conversation you\u2019re going to want to establish a few things right off the bat. Lay the foundation by citing a few proven facts about what you\u2019re asking for. Don\u2019t overdo it, but try to pick two or three impactful facts \u2013 things that relate to the industry you\u2019re in, or that pertain to competitors. Make sure your boss understands the implications of lagging security, which is what your organization could be opening itself up to if you don\u2019t act.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/strong>: 2023 Cyber Security Statistics<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Your boss and you have different objectives. Yours is cyber security-based. It’s your job to keep the network safe and your systems up and running, which requires both a reactive and proactive approach. Your boss, on the other hand, is likely more concerned with being profitable and growing the company. You\u2019re about to ask him to invest in something you need, so be ready to explain what the costs would be to do this, and what it might cost if you don\u2019t. Again, this is a good place to have data to back up your claim.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/strong>: Cyber attacks are the third biggest threat facing mankind<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Depending on where you\u2019re located, there are rules and regulations you must abide by. Whether its HIPAA, PCI DSS or the upcoming GDPR, nobody wants to get slapped with fines and other penalties for not being compliant. Make sure your boss is aware of what your organization\u2019s responsibilities are and what impact failing to follow them would bring. Afterwards, you may want to document that you informed your boss of the regulations and rules that the company might run afoul of. Just send a quick email to your boss, recapping your conversation. That way if heads roll because of compliance issues, your butt will be covered.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/strong>: 10 Cybersecurity Compliance Statistics That Show Why You Must Up Your Cybersecurity Game<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Ideally, you should be running regular scans and penetration tests on your digital infrastructure. This will help inform you where the biggest vulnerabilities are. Take this information and categorize it by order of severity. This will help inform your boss about where the fire is and what it would take to put it out. Remember, you may not get everything you ask for. So prioritizing the gaps in terms of severity can make sure you get the most critical things taken care of.<\/p>\n RELATED: How to Perform a Risk Assessment<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n This may not apply to some of you\u00a0– you may be pitching your ideas directly to the C-Suite or the Board. In which case, I\u2019ve done all I can for you. But oftentimes, your boss may not be the decision-maker. Your boss may need to take it to their boss to get approval. Remember that elevator pitch we discussed earlier? That\u2019s a good guide in terms of identifying the key information your boss needs to take away. Try not to use too much technical jargon, focus on benefits and costs and make sure you have at least one or two important statistics or facts that they can internalize and repeat. Also, don\u2019t be afraid to repeat yourself occasionally. Repetition, when done tactfully, really drives home a point.<\/p>\n RELATED: 1 out of every 101 emails is malicious<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to overlook IT and the rest of the people who do the behind-the-scenes work on your systems and infrastructure. That\u2019s largely owed to the fact that other people have no idea what you\u2019re doing, much less talking about. But it\u2019s important that your superiors understand what a critical component of their business you are. You are literally all that stands between your organization and a breach or attack. According to the National Cyber Security Alliance, 60% of SMBs that are the victim of a cyber-attack go out of business within six months of the incident. Larger companies tend to fare a little better, but they do take a hit to their reputations<\/a> and are oftentimes fined or penalized.<\/p>\n Your boss needs to understand the stakes. And you\u2019re just the person to explain it to them.<\/p>\n As always, leave any comments or questions below…<\/em><\/p>\n Learn to manage upwards and get your security needs met. One of the hardest things IT workers deal with is talking to your boss about Cyber Security. Maybe you report…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","tve_updated_post":"","tve_custom_css":"","tve_user_custom_css":"","tve_globals":{},"tcb2_ready":0,"tcb_editor_enabled":0,"tve_landing_page":"","_tve_header":"","_tve_footer":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[6254],"class_list":["post-5898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hashing-out-cyber-security","tag-cyber","post-with-tags"],"views":17823,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/iStock-917742994.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/bigstock-Lock-Vector-Icon-On-White-Back-246867436-300x300.jpg\"){kind=icon}
Before you can even begin the conversation, here are some things you should be doing:<\/span><\/p>\n\n
1.) Establish Some Basic Facts<\/h2>\n
2.) Be ready to do a cost\/benefit analysis<\/h2>\n
3.) Bring up Compliance<\/h2>\n
4.) Identify the biggest gaps in your security<\/h2>\n
5.) Make sure your boss can effectively explain things to his boss<\/h2>\n
Wrapping up<\/h2>\n
![\"Hashed](\"https:\/\/www.thesslstore.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/bigstock-222348568.jpg\")
<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"