7. Promote knowledge sharing

What

Invest in the education of your Security Champions and encourage knowledge sharing within and outside the company.

Why

Security and technology are continuously evolving. Keeping up with developments requires a mindset of continuously learning. As Security Champions are the security front-runners in their teams and departments they are naturally interested in security related topics and want to learn more. They also know exactly what’s needed to improve their teams. By sharing their knowledge they can improve people, processes and technology. Any feedback during the knowledge sharing sessions can give valuable insights and strengthen the whole community. Additionally, it also ensures the security team is aware of the technology used within the organization and the (security) challenge it incorporates.

How

Promote a knowledge sharing culture, this is a mindset that values and rewards knowledge sharing among employees. Formal training programs can be rolled out using existing sharing and learning strategies within the company when available. Informal knowledge sharing via lunch sessions and pizza evenings can also be very valuable. Combine this with internal & external events to trigger the interest of your employees but make sure to rotate the speakers and topics to attract the biggest audience. Keep in mind that development teams are more likely to connect to the Security Champions that share something that’s relevant to daily activities.

Gamification can be used to introduce a competitive element in the training and sharing knowledge. Capture the flag events are a great way to trigger the curiosity of your development teams.