EPISODE 28: RULES WITHOUT RELATIONSHIPS CREATE REBELLION: WHY ETHICS MATTER IN CYBERSECURITY

Compromising Positions - A Cyber Security Podcast

Welcome back to season 3!

To kick things off we are joined by Dr Bettina Palazzo a business ethics expert! She works with compliance managers to create a culture of integrity that focuses on the leadership and behavioural dimensions of compliance.

She states that unethical organisations make people unhappy - and we couldn’t agree more. So she has dedicated her life work to helping organisations create cultures that make work fun and meaningful.

Ethics is such an important subject when it comes to business because poor ethical decisions can mean poor compliance, and ultimately, can lead to poor security decisions.

So how do you build a culture that is comfortable with having honest conversations about ethics?

Well that’s what we will explore in this episode, Rules Without Relationships Create Rebellion: Why Ethics Matter in Cybersecurity.

By the end of this episode you will Learn how to create a ‘speak up’ culture so that people can raise cybersecurity concerns with you.

How to build a compliance influencer programme (and no, that does not mean trips abroad at beautiful locations surrounded by policy documentation for the gram)

And how the cybersecurity team can not only be ethical role models but also give people a reason to care for the big question: why we do the things we do to protect them!

Key Takeaways:

Speak Up Culture: Learn how to create a safe space for open communication about ethics and compliance. No more fear of reprisal!

Ethical Leadership: Great leaders inspire ethical behaviour. Dr. Palazzo explains how to be that leader.

Communication is Key: Don't just tell people what to do, explain the "why" behind the rules.

Ditch the Shame: Falling for phishing attacks? It happens! We need to build psychological safety to discuss cybersecurity issues openly.

Goodbye Curse of Knowledge: Cybersecurity isn't just for the techies. Learn how to communicate cyber dangers effectively to everyone.

Links to everything we discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes and if you liked the show, please do leave us a review.

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It really helps us spread the word and get high-quality guests, on future episodes.

We hope you enjoyed this episode - See you next time, keep secure, and don’t forget to ask yourself, ‘Am I the compromising position here?’

Keywords: cybersecurity, compliance, leadership, psychological safety

SHOW NOTES

Dr Palazzo’s Compliance Influencer Programme

Oh Behave by Cybsafe

Vote for us in the European Cybersecurity Blogger Awards!

ABOUT DR BETTINA PALAZZO

Bettina stumbled on the topic of business ethics in the early 90s and soon found out that it is such a rich and exciting topic that she never stopped doing anything else – at least professionally. She suffered through the cumbersome but rewarding effort of getting her head around the philosophical and economical foundations of business ethics, won a prize for her PhD. thesis and rode off into the sunset to join KPMG. There she helped to build their business ethics consulting services. Tough pioneer work at that time! After a short detour into strategic management consulting, she returned to her true passion and started her own business ethics advisory in 2000. Over the years Bettina has learned that you cannot press ethics into checklists and processes and that unethical companies make unhappy people. The desire to create corporate cultures that make work fun and meaningful instead of dreadful and depressing drives everything she does.

Fun facts: Bettina also has a blog about her city of the heart Rome and dances salsa. She met her husband, Guido Palazzo, on a business ethics conference and they have two almost grown sons.

LINKS FOR DR BETTINA PALAZZO

Dr Palazzo’s website

Dr Palazzo’s LinkedIn