Say “yes” to SBOMs!
Why software bills of materials (SBOMs) matter for security teams, managers, and developers, how to win management buy-in, and a short hands-on demo generating an SBOM in a GitLab CI pipeline.
Getting it right: security awareness program on a budget
How to build a security-awareness program on a budget when the security team is new: getting leadership buy-in, defining the audience and topics, scheduling sessions, tracking attendance, and collecting feedback.
Is my business secure? First look at the SAMM framework
A first look at OWASP SAMM for answering “is my business secure?”: why the answer is hard for small businesses, what SAMM covers, its maturity levels, and where to start implementing it.
Short review: “Search in Plain Sight”
A short review of Somer Hackley’s book “Search in Plain Sight: Demystifying Executive Search”, covering hiring-manager maturity, discussing salary expectations, and how to tell you’re working with a great recruiter.
Solving the WebStrike Blue Team Challenge
A blue-team walkthrough of the CyberDefenders WebStrike challenge: analyzing the PCAP to find the attack’s geographic origin and user agent, the uploaded web shell and its port, the upload directory, and the file targeted for exfiltration.
Planning with confidence: high-level estimates in software projects
How to make high-level estimates in software projects with more confidence: the factors that shape them (requirements clarity, domain knowledge, team skill, company rhythm, cost of failure) and the ones I overlooked at first.
Office space: flex desks vs. reserved spaces 🔥
Comparing two office-seating models, flex desks versus reserved team spaces, with the real-world pros, cons, and outcomes I saw during an office move.
The delegation spectrum
The delegation spectrum between micromanagement and abandonment, and why you should always retain ownership of the outcome even when handing work off, with advice inspired by Patty Azzarello’s book “Rise”.
Crimediggers: solving the cyber challenge
A walkthrough of Crimediggers, the Dutch police digital-forensics challenge, working through CCTV, license-plate, GPS, and Bitcoin-wallet objectives with tools like CyberChef and EnCase/EWF disk images (no answer spoilers).
The engineering manager role explained
A grounded explanation of the engineering manager role and its responsibilities, organized into categories like keeping the individual and the team healthy, covering psychological safety, alignment, feedback, onboarding, and direction.