CISO Tradecraft®

What if the reason your cybersecurity budget keeps getting cut isn't your security strategy, but how you negotiate? Every CISO negotiates. Whether you're fighting for a bigger cybersecurity budget, negotiating with vendors, retaining top talent, or navigating a ransomware crisis, your ability to negotiate can determine your success as a security leader.

In this episode of CISO Tradecraft, G. Mark Hardy sits down with cybersecurity attorney and negotiation expert Mark Rasch to reveal the strategies that separate effective negotiators from everyone else. You'll discover why winning a negotiation doesn't mean the other side has to lose, how to shift conversations from cost to business value, and why understanding what someone actually wants can unlock deals that initially seem impossible.

What You'll Learn: 💰 Win Bigger Cybersecurity Budgets: Why precise financial requests can outperform inflated budget proposals. 🧠 Master Negotiation Psychology: How anchoring, perceived value, and understanding motivations influence outcomes. 🔐 Navigate Ransomware Negotiations: How attackers think about money, credibility, risk, and leverage. 📈 Sell Security as a Business Enabler: Stop positioning cybersecurity as a cost center and start connecting security investments to revenue. 🤝 Negotiate Better Vendor Contracts: Resolve intellectual property disputes by understanding what each party actually needs. 👥 Retain Your Best Cybersecurity Talent: Negotiate salaries, benefits, flexibility, and career opportunities beyond compensation. 🚨 Know When to Walk Away: Recognize when legal, ethical, or financial risks make a deal unacceptable.

The Biggest Lesson? The best negotiators don't simply ask for more money. They understand what the other side values, build credibility, and find solutions that benefit both parties. Whether you're preparing for your next board meeting, asking for additional resources, or negotiating a multimillion-dollar security contract, these lessons can help you become a more effective cybersecurity executive.

Question for CISOs: What's the toughest negotiation you've faced as a cybersecurity leader? Share your experience in the comments! 👍 Like this episode if you found it valuable. 🔔 Subscribe to CISO Tradecraft for weekly insights on cybersecurity leadership, risk management, business strategy, and becoming a more effective CISO. 🌐

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Should you get a PhD in Cybersecurity?
In this episode of CISO Tradecraft, G. Mark Hardy sits down with Dr. Char Sample at the COSAC security conference in Ireland to unpack what it REALLY takes to earn a doctorate in cybersecurity.
From her early work on the Gauntlet firewall to cybersecurity research at the Army Research Lab, INL, and Marshall University, Dr. Sample shares hard-earned lessons on research, funding, doctoral programs, and surviving the PhD journey.
They also explore:
Why a PhD can matter for cybersecurity research funding
What makes a strong cybersecurity research problem
How long a doctorate can take
Research methods, proposals, and defending your work
Remote vs. residency programs
AI, hallucinated citations, and research reproducibility
Why cybersecurity needs more focus on building securely, not just breaking things
If you're considering an advanced degree or want to understand where cybersecurity research is headed, this episode is for you.
🎧 Subscribe to CISO Tradecraft for more cybersecurity leadership insights.

In this episode, we reveal the biggest security awareness mistakes and the creative ways to make cybersecurity training actually fun in 2026.
From AI-powered phishing and token theft to stronger MFA and gamified training, There are ideas every security leader should steal.
Watch now and level up your security awareness game!

Most CISOs spend years learning cybersecurity.
Almost nobody teaches them how to build a culture people actually want to be part of.
In this episode of CISO Tradecraft, G. Mark Hardy and Ross Young break down the leadership lessons that separate average security organizations from world-class ones.
You’ll learn how to:
Build a security team people WANT to join
Develop your employees into future CISOs
Reward behavior that actually changes culture
Communicate like an executive
Spot when your company may NEVER promote you to CISO
Prevent burnout before your best people leave
Build trust across the business
Create a culture of excellence, accountability, and curiosity
Ross also shares how he turned phishing awareness into a company competition, complete with trophies, CEO recognition, and brisket parties.
Because great cybersecurity leadership isn't just about stopping hackers.
It's about building an organization where great people can do their best work.
What’s the ONE leadership rule every CISO should follow?
Subscribe to CISO Tradecraft for practical lessons on cybersecurity leadership, strategy, risk, and becoming a more effective CISO.
Template for Command Philosophy: https://www.gmarkhardy.com/Navy_Articles/NRA-0306%20Template%20for%20a%20Command%20Philosophy.pdf

The biggest threat to a CISO might not be ransomware, it might be burnout. In this episode, G. Mark Hardy brings on We Hack Health to reveal why brilliant security leaders are sacrificing their health, how accountability can reverse the damage, and the one rule every CISO should follow: Never miss twice. Watch this before your career costs you everything.

Link to CruiseCon
https://cruisecon.com/events/cruisecon-privacy-ai-2026/
Use code: CISOTRADECRAFT10 for a 10% discount