Helping university leaders simplify and strengthen their cybersecurity strategy

As a campus information security leader, you face many challenges.

• You encounter hurdles recruiting and retaining talent.
• You must secure massive infrastructure, but you have budgets much smaller than your corporate counterparts.
• You must meet many compliance mandates, ranging from government research compliance to PCI and HIPAA.
• You must protect the personal information of thousands of faculty, staff, and students.

Managing an academic cybersecurity program can be daunting, but you can overcome the obstacles with the right support.

Helping universities build an effective security program

Even for small schools, it’s possible to simplify and strengthen your cybersecurity while staying within budget constraints.

Technology leaders often wonder what improvements are most important to reduce risk and ensure compliance. You’re not alone if you want help to review and enhance your strategy!

I’m excited to introduce our CISO coaching service — cybersecurity advising tailored to the unique needs of higher education.

Gain insights from an experienced CISO

I’ve led university technology and information security programs for over 20 years, so I know how challenging a campus CISO role can be.

Besides running day-to-day security projects for your organization, you must keep abreast of compliance requirements, stay ahead of evolving threats, and evaluate how vendor solutions fit within your security architecture. This all needs to be done with fewer resources than your non-education counterparts often have available.

This service benefits you and your team by providing guidance and expertise from a CISO coach who has helped dozens of institutions implement effective security programs.

I customized the service to help you stay on top of today’s security projects while preparing your team for future challenges.

It doesn’t matter if you are just starting your cybersecurity journey or looking to take your security initiatives to the next level. As your strategy coach, I’ll provide the insights you need to reduce IT risk and enhance your security strategy.

What is CYBER HEAT MAP?

CYBER HEAT MAP is a Higher Education Assessment Tool that provides a framework to map your technical security capabilities against your current and desired maturity.

Rather than viewing security as a collection of compliance exercises, this tool helps you simplify your strategy with a consolidated view.

Quickly determine what processes and technical capabilities your team needs so you can optimize your organization’s security resources and more effectively manage risk.

Cybersecurity assessment model based on two decades of experience

I’ve held CISO roles and consulted with dozens of universities. CYBER HEAT MAP encapsulates the security best practices I’ve learned over 20+ years.

Using this framework, you benefit from a streamlined view of cybersecurity across your organization and gain new insights to manage an effective security program.

How does our CISO coaching service work?

The goal of CISO coaching is to establish a long-term partnership. You gain the benefits of a trusted advisor who’s been in your shoes as a CISO and understands the challenges of cybersecurity in an academic setting.

I structured the service as an annual retainer with no hourly fees or surprise costs.

To help achieve value for your security program as quickly as possible, the service follows a three-step process to support new clients.

Review capabilities

• I’ll help you assess your technical security capabilities against best practices, compliance, and research requirements.
• This will help identify capability gaps and opportunities for improvement.
• You can update your information as your team completes new projects. The assessment is a living document rather than a one-time consulting exercise.

Prioritize improvements

• I’ll review your capability assessment and will research potential solutions used at other institutions and newer technology options.

Guide and review strategy

• During periodic CISO coaching workshops, I’ll provide insights and advice to help strengthen your overall security program based on your assessment.
• You’ll benefit from broad visibility across other institutions and the cybersecurity vendor landscape, giving you a fresh set of eyes to build a robust strategy and roadmap.

Learn more about coaching services

I’m excited to be introducing CISO coaching services designed specifically for higher education institutions. Learn more about how to simplify your university cybersecurity strategy with CISO coaching services by exploring our website.

You can also request a free 30-minute consultation to discuss your security needs and learn how I can support your institution.

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