Every savvy business leader knows the importance of setting and managing objectives for their teams. Many have adopted Peter Drucker’s Management by Objectives (MBOs) strategy to align their team’s goals with those of the organization. In the world of cybersecurity, however, the rapidly evolving threat landscape calls for a more dynamic approach to managing progress and performance. In this context, cybersecurity KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), underpinned by Drucker’s famous maxim “what gets measured gets managed,” take center stage.

Introduction:

You’ve reached that crossroad in your career – senior engineer. It’s a proud moment, and yet, one with its fair share of uncertainty. The fork in the road is well-documented: a choice between progressing into management or continuing to hone your skills as an individual contributor. For a long time, the career path for many software engineers seemed to be culminating towards management. But, as I mentioned in my post Is Management for You? Navigating Your Career Path, the idea that management is the only path to progression and leadership is a misconception. An increasing number of engineers are exploring a different trajectory: the path of a Staff Engineer.

Few tools have transformed the landscape of browser extension security as profoundly as CRXcavator. Born out of a simple idea, it has gone on to shape industry practices and empower organizations across sectors with robust security oversight.

It all began with a straightforward concept – to design a script that could help security analysts review Chrome Extension requests in an efficient and consistent manner. As simple as the idea was, the execution was revolutionary. Rather than keeping the process manual, we leveraged the power of AWS Lambda to scan all public Chrome extensions in the Chrome Web Store simultaneously. This move not only amplified its efficiency but also set the stage for CRXcavator’s public availability, thanks to the light weight web-based interface.

In the journey of professional and personal development, few resources have been as impactful in my life as the book “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High.” Penned by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler, this seminal work is a crucial guide (pun intended) for navigating high-stakes conversations. As part of my ongoing “Book Report” series, let’s dive into the valuable lessons this book offers.

Introduction

As a security engineering leader with over twenty years of experience in the IT and security space, I’ve encountered numerous challenges in managing teams. From building corporate security and detection programs to leading Security Operations Centers, I’ve seen a fair share of dysfunction in teams. It’s important to acknowledge that team dysfunctions aren’t exclusive to a particular industry. Regardless of the sector, the problems of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results exist. These are the five dysfunctions Patrick Lencioni identified in his book, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team”. These are helpful things to understand especially for new managers seeking build high-functioning, mature teams.

In the 1995 movie “Hackers“, young cyber rebels, portrayed by actors such as Jonny Lee Miller and Angelina Jolie, infiltrate computer systems, outsmart corporate security, and ultimately save the day. The movie, while dated in terms of technology, surprisingly remains relevant when it comes to its depiction of cybersecurity threats. In fact, it seems that despite the massive technological advancements we’ve seen in the past 30 years, many of the ways Crash, Burn and the gang use when hacking the Gibson are still commonly used today.

In the realm of Information Technology, few books have made as profound an impact as Gene Kim’s “The Phoenix Project.” (Book Link) This novel, draped in the garb of a corporate thriller, introduces us to an IT manager, Bill, who is thrust into the chaotic world of a project – code-named Phoenix – on the brink of disaster. As the book unfolds, Bill battles not only the looming deadline and a myriad of technical challenges but also navigates the intricate web of company politics and cross-departmental tensions.

Hello there! I have an exciting and unusual story to share with you today. Back in 2019, when I was working at Duo Security, I did something called “Hot Topics – with Steve Edwards” that you might call daring, adventurous, or, let’s be honest, a little crazy.

I made a video aiming to educate viewers about the top five things they could do to stay safe online. But to make things interesting, I decided to up the stakes. Just before I started sharing my advice, I ate a Carolina Reaper. For those who don’t know, the Carolina Reaper held the title of the world’s hottest pepper at that time.

Hello everyone,

We’re about to embark on a fun, exploratory exercise! Before we begin, I’d like to share that this post is meant purely in jest. While I appreciate the appeal and tradition of astrology, my personal journey in leadership and team-building has been informed more by structured personality assessment tools, like Myers-Briggs, DISC, and CliftonStrengths. Tools that have been jokingly called “Business Astrology”.

Recently, just for a bit of amusement, I decided to try mapping the twelve zodiac signs to the traits you might find in these business personality assessments. I want to underline again: this is all in good fun, and the results are simply a playful take on the concept. The correlations are drawn by our good friend, GPT-4.0, an AI language model developed by OpenAI.

As someone who has been a people leader for about 10 years and has worked in IT and security for over 20, I’ve had the privilege of leading diverse teams across different industries – from small startups to Fortune 50 companies and state institutions. Through these varied experiences, I have learnt that taking on an existing team can be a nuanced process, one that demands adaptability, empathy, and keen communication skills.