How can Network Security professionals build relationships with colleagues in other departments?

Throw a 🍕 🎉 and invite all your peers. Eat pizza, sit down and listen to their challenges. This is a great way to learn from others.

Start engaging and listening to the challenges of the colleagues from the other departments. Then you will know how to optimize the policy and having proper protection to help secure their daily works. Balancing the security posture with the working requirements is critical.

I’ve had success building relationships with other departments by requesting tours with our team. When I worked at the hospital, I would reach out to other managers & schedule tours of their department with my team. This gave our security team the opportunity to see other parts of the hospital, get away from their desks, understand how other people’s work fits in the larger puzzle, & gain an appreciation for other colleagues instead of only looking at them as “usernames” in a log. The other departments gained a larger appreciation for our security team as well instead of only thinking of us as the department that blocked their websites and apps. These tours also helped increase security as we would find vulns such as written passwords.

Cybersecurity work nature involves you with various departments in activities like audits, phishing assessments, incidents, proposals...etc. While some of these occasions aren't exactly the best in terms of socializing, I believe in the complete opposite! Some work environments are heavily loaded and don't have time for outings and gatherings unless there's a specific business need. From my personal experience, you can easily use and exploit a 10 - 15 min conversation to break the ice, know your colleague, know what he likes or hates as opening for meaningful cooperation in the upcoming task. From these consistent short talks every now and then, I believe strong relationships will be achieved.

Ensure to visit your company's breakout area during lunch time. While at it please be polite with a smile on your face, greet people and try to know how the work is progressing in their departments. Just keep it casual, people love off work convos during lunch time. So don't stay too long on work talks.

It's just simple as for other professions.and no matter what professions we are in just need to be good with everyone You can also use visual aids, such as diagrams, charts, or screenshots, to illustrate your points and make them easier to understand. By being clear and concise, you can reduce the risk of misunderstanding, miscommunication, or confusion. You can also demonstrate your professionalism, competence

Personally having pre defined engagement work flows, established flywheels and mechanisms have helped me carry a better communication with wider teams who do not have network security as their primary job. Make it simpler, and avoid technical jargons. When in doubt if we are having an effective communication, put together a white boarding session. It is essential to forge an environment where people feel heard and would be comfortable to bring in ideas or ask questions without reserve. Write up the problem, expected outcome, risks, multiple options and approaches to solve the problem with their respective pros and cons. Seeing this together with the person or team you would be working with would help deliver a productive conversation.

It’s also helpful to emphasize common goals such as keeping operations running smoothly or ensuring a separation of duties when it comes to accessing data either inside or outside the organization. In this way it becomes clear that their department’s best interests are always top of mind. Department leaders really appreciate that.

Avoid technical jargon, explain security concepts in a way that is easy for non-technical people to understand. Educate users on market conditions and the impact cyber attacks have had to other organisations, reinforcing why it's so important to take it seriously and get the buy in.

Remember that in most organizations, security functions are critical but only exist because the business is able to meet its deliverable requirements. Having discussions of why security must happen and soliciting concerns instead of providing opaque yes/no directives will go a long way.

I always am a strong proponent of team building. I have lead and also engaged in cross-functional team building activities that allowed me to interact with individuals that I did not know much about, and at least broke the ice.  I also like the idea of bringing in food, as it gives people a reason to show up and stay for awhile. A lunch-and-learn can be useful, as unfamiliar teams can be made aware of what you do and how it can impact their area of the business.

Collaboration begets good tidings and will benefit both parties. So there's no substitute for this kind of strategic approach.

It is necessary to have mutual respect. Each of project contributors is responsable in a dedicated domain requested by the project.

A mi me ha resultado útil colaborar con colegas de otros departamentos para evaluar y fortalecer la seguridad de los sistemas y datos de la organización, así como proporcionar asesoramiento sobre las mejores prácticas de seguridad. En otras palabras, hacerlo sentir parte de los procesos de prevención y ciberseguridad. Además, pueden ayudar a educar a empleados de otros departamentos sobre la importancia de la seguridad y cómo pueden contribuir a proteger la información de la empresa (un programa “train the trainers” o de “champions departamental”). Es muy importante generar Engagement para que se sienta una auténtica colaboración .

The idea is to build a sense of common purpose and shared value in forming relationships and securing the organization's networks. From here you can openly seek others expertise as well as collaborations. This will make possible strong relationships across departments that fosters honesty.

Well said. I hope everyone reads this suggestion because it is much more important than technical ability. Often I witness a battle of egos where techies go off on their own and solve problems privately as if there is some prize for DIY. Technical wizards who can’t share without ego are common. Collaborators are the ones that bring forth the greatest successes. IT is a river that grows wider and deeper every day. It grows faster than any individual can. Working together accelerates learning and organizational capability. Unfortunately many IT specialists selfishly gaurd their expertise m, most likely because (very generally speaking) accountants undervalue then as a “cost center” ignoring that great IT folks are a productivity multiplier.

Involve with their activities from security perspective, there is a lot of overlapping b/w security, networking and infra. Make good rapport with them by knowing their infra design and tech stack, when they come for a problem try to understand the team and problem both, invite them to your regular meetings and sessions. Try to involve them also in security meetings where their input is required or could be important

Building relationships with colleagues in other departments is crucial for network security professionals. Here are a few effective ways to foster better relationships: 1. Communication: Initiate regular communication with colleagues in other departments to understand their needs and challenges better. Attend team meetings, share relevant information, and provide updates on security issues that may impact their work. 2. Collaboration: Seek opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in other departments on projects or initiatives. Offer your expertise and support to help address security concerns specific to their department. This will demonstrate your willingness to work together towards common goals. 3. Education and Training

Security can often be perceived as the office of “no”. With the mission of protecting the business (often times from itself), it can be easy to fall into this stereotype. Approach what could easily be a conflict from a place of collaboration. Think “how can we get to ‘yes.’” And show yourself as a team player. The organization’s security policies are obligatory, not optional, but you can help your peers navigate these waters and achieve their goal(s). That’s a win win!

Something that I have found helpful is offering support when rolling out nee software for a team. Getting involved to offer help securing the application is appreciated, especially if the team didn't realize this was necessary. They generally appreciate the help, and the lines of communication are held open long after you're done.

Ok, ‘Here’s how’ to get what you need. With a security mindset (and even throughout IT solutions), we often tend to focus on all of the reasons something cannot or should not be done. Instead, focus on understanding (or asking more questions to understand) the actual challenge to be overcome. While their approach may not be the most security conscious approach, share with them how to mold that approach. Show them how they can be successful, instead of being a roadblock.

We often tend to get lost in details and shine light on the nuances when it comes our areas of expertise, we could be sure that X might be the right solution for a problem but will see the partner team go and opt for Y and it could be frustrating at times since you as the subject matter expert know that X is better than Y. So it is important to understand there could be other factors driving to choose Y. Business decisions doesn't need to align with a subject matter experts choice and it is important to understand, acknowledge and accept that.

To build relationships with other departments, network security professionals can: 1. Understand their goals and align support with their needs and responsibilities. 2. Offer expertise and collaborate on projects. 3. Communicate effectively and explain network security in simple terms. 4. Be accessible and address questions and concerns promptly. 5. Show understanding and have open communication. 6. Use digital platforms for collaboration. 7. Lastly, a big one: Recognize and celebrate achievements together.

Building relationships with colleagues in other departments is important for network security professionals to effectively collaborate and protect the organization. Here are some steps they can take: 1. Attend Cross-Departmental Meetings and Events 2. Listen and Learn 3. Communicate Effectively 4. Offer Help and Expertise 5. Share Knowledge 6. Establish Personal Connections 7. Collaborate on Projects 8. Be Open to Feedback

Hire competent leaders and they'll make those connections. You can't rely on company planned events because the same colleagues from work tend to stick together. I specifically call out leaders because this is one of the most critical capabilities of a leader, making connections. Obviously, this isn't only applicable to network security professionals.