The SEC has always focused on corporate security leadership issues. Our mission is to help security leaders and programs succeed. To achieve that goal, we strive to make our Insight content actionable and relevant. Over the past 20 years we have created over 500 research-based articles focused on providing leaders of security programs with the guidance and tools they need to succeed. Given our 20th anniversary, we explore a small sample of that vast amount of public content to help demonstrate how security leadership has (or has not) changed over time.
When the SEC Insight newsletter started in July 2008, it focused on strategic tools and solution updates, open SEC research projects, security issue alerts, events and articles written by SEC faculty and staff in media partner magazines. By 2010 we started to move more towards sharing what we were learning in our work assisting high functioning security leaders.
2011
The Nine Practices of the Successful Security Leader
Nine Practices of the Successful Security Leader lays out a series of best practices for security managers. Collected from interviews with security leaders at public and private sector organizations, ranging from small- and mid-size all the way up to large international entities, these practices are a sampling of what is vital and what works.
2014
The Successful Security Practitioner's Top To-Dos
This article covers key elements you need to know before starting any new role or program. These practices have been identified by the Security Executive Council through our work with some of the leaders of the world’s most sophisticated and accomplished security programs.
2016
Demonstrating the Value Security Brings to the Organization
Over time the SEC has built up a knowledge base of a myriad of methods and techniques that contribute to demonstrating value. We recently conducted a survey to get an idea of which of these techniques were the most valuable amongst our community.
2017
Security Barometer: How is Your Organization Approaching Assessing Risks?
In the results of a 2017 Security Barometer poll, security practitioners shared the steps they use to assess risk and how well they feel their organization is tackling significant security risks overall.
2018
Six Questions to Ask Yourself About Security Risk Assessments
Getting back to basics to align your security risk process with the rest of the business.
2020
Key Success Factors I Wish I Had Known: Starting a New Position or New Responsibility
SEC Managing Director Bob Hayes discusses factors that will help security practitioners succeed in a new position, including running security like a business, alignment with the organization, and knowing the service delivery model.
2022
You Are Here: How Knowing Where You Are Can Help Get You Where You’re Going
Understanding your C4R – your current conditions, culture, circumstances, and resources – is about examining what you’re doing now and what you hope to do, and then honestly and realistically determining whether that model matches the reality you are facing, whether you’re satisfied with that reality or not.
2023
The Biggest Gap in Security Success: Not Getting Executive Agreement on "Why?"
One of the recommendations we frequently make to new and struggling security leaders is to always be prepared to answer the big four "executive questions". Budgets, projects, new positions, expansion of headcount, new technology, elevated role, or even travel evoke the inevitable: Why, what, how, and how much. This may seem simplistic, but it can get to the root of all types of program limitations, vulnerabilities, inefficiencies, lack of executive influence and even failures.
Six Steps of Risk Assessment
A risk assessment is among the first steps in all risk frameworks, standards and guidelines. In this video we'll discuss how to conduct a comprehensive risk assessment according to one of those standards - ISO 31000 - and how our "collective knowledge" can help you along the way.
2024
Security Optimization - Looking Beyond Traditional Definitions of Convergence
How does collaboration influence security optimization, and is one structure more likely to lead to optimization than another? Together, SEC and KSU researchers hypothesized that "convergence"- or what they began to call security collaborative optimization (SCO) – exists throughout a continuum of organizational structures.
2025 (as of February)
Building a Comprehensive Security Governance Framework for Today's Businesses
A mature corporate security program will have a framework for security governance that drives adherence to corporate security programs and reduces external risk by ensuring compliance with company standards and policies.
In Summary
We hope you found this sampling helpful for where you are on your leadership journey. We encourage you to continue to explore our website for additional resources and information on how the SEC provides guidance and assistance directly to security practitioners and their teams.
Contact us to discuss your situation and how we can assist you.
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