Security risk board of directors: When ignorance becomes a real vulnerability
As the threat escalates, a publicly traded corporation continues to cut corners on IT security, relying on hope rather than defense. The CISO? No influence. No budget. No team. Now the few employees are sick, and no one cares.The executive suite? Looking the other way. Years of overload, zero recognition, no opportunities for development, and […]
Excel Dieter, PowerPoint Joe, and the management system chaos
Anyone involved in setting up and operating management systems—such as for information security in accordance with ISO 27001 (ISMS) or quality management in accordance with ISO 9001—is all too familiar with the scenario: Pages and pages of PowerPoint slides, huge Excel files with complex formulas, and dozens of Word documents often form the basis of […]
AI, copy & paste, and the end of genuine diligence?
I receive many emails and LinkedIn in-mails—mostly from people who promise me the moon. They claim to have “cracked the LinkedIn code” and can help me gain lots and lots of new customer relationships in no time. I just smile wearily at these messages now.But last week, I finally lost my temper. One sender was […]
Threat intelligence without context is worthless
Platforms such as Mandiant, Recorded Future, and CrowdStrike Falcon Intelligence promise to provide information about the current threat situation in near real time. Many of these tools deliver comprehensive reports and are used by numerous organizations. But here’s the problem:The flood of information is often so great that it simply overwhelms experts and decision-makers.In larger […]
Why combining IT and cybersecurity responsibilities in a leadership role is risky
Recently, LinkedIn suggested that I apply for the position of “Director of Global IT & Cyber Security”: a medium-sized company, multiple locations, well-known brand. Apart from the fact that I have enough to do at TEN Information Management, I took a look at the job description. Why? Because I hear from the organization that the […]
Bureaucracy, Part 748923: The difficulty of paying bills on time
As an entrepreneur, you know that when business isn’t going so well, outstanding payments can sometimes pile up. Most business partners pay after a friendly reminder, but sometimes you encounter absurd situations. I would like to tell you about one such situation today. In my opinion, it belongs in the category of bureaucracy that the […]
Overview of significant changes to ISO/IEC 27006-1:2024
The revision of ISO 27006 brings significant changes for ISMS audits according to ISO 27001—especially for digitized companies. I have looked into this and identified the following key points: New calculation logic for audit days Updated remote audit policies Simplified auditor qualification No rigid experience requirements: Quantitative requirements such as “four years of professional experience” […]
Vocabulary related to information security – a basic prerequisite for mutual understanding!
In practice and in marketing, misleading terminology is often encountered in connection with information security standards such as ISO 27001 and SOC 2. This imprecise use not only leads to misunderstandings, but can also undermine the trust of customers and partners. In the following, I will highlight typical misinterpretations and supplement them with further examples […]
Collective irresponsibility in the supply chain: Why information security often fails during supplier onboarding
In theory, it sounds simple: suppliers are selected according to defined criteria, risks are assessed and then selected. In practice, things are usually different. Especially when onboarding suppliers, there is often a pattern of collective irresponsibility – everyone in the company assumes that “the others” will take care of the details. The result: a bureaucratic […]
The policy problem: Why nobody reads policies anymore – and how we can change that
The “policy problem” plagues many companies and has become an annoying reality: There are countless policies on almost every topic, but hardly anyone knows which ones are relevant to him or her. This is particularly fatal in the area of information security – things that can only be regulated organizationally fall “under the radar” of […]