This is a "guest diary" submitted by Russell Eubanks. We will gladly forward any responses or please use our comment/forum section to comment publically. Russell is currently enrolled in the SANS Masters Program.

The primary reason your security program is struggling is not your lack of funding. You must find a better excuse than not having the budget you are convinced you need in order for your security program to succeed. Do not blame poor security on poor funding. Blame bad security on the REAL reason you have bad security. I hope to encourage you to take a new look at what you are doing and determine if it is working. If not, I encourage you to make a change by using the tools and capabilities you currently have to help tell an accurate story of your security program - with much needed and overdue metrics.

Every person can improve their overall security posture by clearly articulating the current state of their security program. Think creatively and start somewhere. Do not just sit by and wish for a bucket of money to magically appear. It will not. What can you do today to make your world better without spending any money? With some thoughtful effort, you can begin to measure and monitor key metrics that will help articulate your story and highlight the needs that exist in your security program.

When you do start recording and distributing your metrics, make sure they are delivered on a consistent schedule. Consider tracking it yourself for several weeks to make sure trends can be identified before it is distributed to others. Consider what this metric will demonstrate not only now, but also three months from now. You do not want to be stuck with something that does not resonate with your audience or even worse, provides no value at all.

Do not hide behind the security details of your message. Ask yourself why would someone who is not the CISO care about what is being communicated? How would you expect them to use this information? Start planning now for your response ahead of being asked. Think about what you want the recipient to do with this information and be prepared with some scenarios of how you will respond they ask for your plan. Never brief an executive without a plan.

Develop and rehearse your message in advance. Look for opportunities to share your message with others during the course of your day. Every day. Practice delivering your "elevator pitch" to make sure you are comfortable with the delivery and timing of the content. Ask your non security friends if your message is clear and can be easily understood. Often those who are not as close to the message can provide much more objective feedback. Resist the urge to tell every single thing you know at your first meeting. Give enough compelling facts that the recipient wants to know more, in a manner in which they can understand (without having to be a security professional). 

I recognize this behavior every time I see it because I used to be guilty of the very same thing. I am certain that I was the worst offender. It takes no effort to sit by and complain. That only serves to make things worse. It takes commitment to conquer the problem. Unfortunately, only a few do that very well. Change your paradigm from why will no one listen to me to what is my plan to communicate the current situation in an effective manner. Have you found yourself guilty of admiring the problem? Do you stop working on problems when you realize that it is going to be simply too hard? Think beyond the current state and look to how things could be with focused effort. 

Do not ask for everything at once. Seek an initial investment in your security program and demonstrate with metrics the value of that investment. Show how you have been a good steward with the initial investment and can be trusted with incremental investments. Be open, honest and transparent about the use of the resources. Pay particular attention to schedule, scope and budget. The people you are asking for financial support sure will.

The primary reason your security program is failing is not your lack of funding. Start developing your plan today. Maybe the executives say that they think there must not be a problem, since they are not hearing from you. By using the data you already have, start to use it to tell your story about the current state of your security program. This information, properly communicated can become the catalyst for increased awareness and funding.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Monitor the percentage of systems sending their logs as compared to the total number of log sources in use
• Monitor the percentage of blocked traffic on the firewall versus what that was permitted
• Monitor the percentage of changes that occur outside the approved change control process
• Monitor the percentage of findings on your risk register that have remain unchanged over the last quarter

What metrics have you found to be useful when communicating the needs and the effectiveness of your security program?

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Johannes B. Ullrich, Ph.D.
SANS Technology Institute
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