Executive summary: Essays and other short writing pieces at the graduate level are expected to be concise, insightful and correctly written. Their purpose is to persuade, explain, or inform.
Tips for success:
1) Have a message to share. This seems obvious, but in a world of word processors, grammar checkers, and search engines it is possible to produce a document that looks good, but doesn't actually communicate useful information. The successful writer knows what he is going to say before starting to write. If you are struggling with step one, try this:
A) Walk around the block, talk to yourself in the shower, do whatever works for you to verbalize and focus on your message. State your thesis and the reasons why you think it is true.
B) Use a voice recorder, (most cell phones have this ability). Record your thesis and primary supporting arguments. Let it sit for 24 hours.
C) Listen to your recording. If your message still makes sense, build your outline.
2) Support your assertions. Invest the time to do research, (hint, if you type a short phrase into Google and build your paper from the first page of results, that doesn't count as research).
A) Look for "whitespace," (the term used to refer to blank areas on printed documents, can also be used to describe topic areas that have not been exhaustively covered by other authors and researchers). The goal of your research is to cover the topic from a new angle or perspective.
B) Note counterarguments. You may find information that contradicts your assertions. The best writers know there are counterarguments and acknowledge them.
3) Remember the reader. People rarely have to read what you write. Back in the era of printed books, every author knew that if they couldn't get the reader to turn from page 1 to page 2, the book was lost. With online publications, the abstract and introduction have to "sell" the paper, if not, page abandonment is just one click away.
A) Make sure you convey the value of the paper to the reader early in the process.
B) Make it easy for the reader, everything from the font, formatting to word choice should be chosen with the reader in mind. Correct grammar and spelling are a must in this respect.
C) Be ruthless with word count. If a word, sentence, or paragraph is not directly related to the central point, replace it with one that is.
Thursday, January 4, 2018
Tips for Success: Writing a technical report
A technical report conveys information about an issue, product, or event. Even though the document usually targets one group of readers, it should have value to a wide ranging audience: management, technical colleagues, and interested third parties such as customers or investors. The sections of a technical report vary, but in general, readers expect an: abstract, executive summary, introduction, body, conclusion and when needed supporting technical documentation.
Abstract: This is your contract with your reader. It should be very concise and simply tell them what the document is about so they can decide it they wish to read it. This is different than an executive summary which tells the reader what they need to know. Try to target 100 - 200 words.
Executive Summary: Even though this is part of the technical report, consider printing separate one page copies of the executive summary, or paginating the technical report, so that busy senior executive can simply refer to this part of the report to learn what the authors and reviewers feel they need to know. Make sure you are clear on actionable recommendation. For more specific guidance on the executive summary please see:
https://securitywa.blogspot.com/2017/11/tips-for-success-writing-executive.html
Introduction: This part of the technical paper establishes the structure of the information you wish to share. Ideas, concepts, or issues brought up in the introduction should be aligned with the executive summary and fully explored, or explained in the body of the paper. NOTE: assertions in the introduction should be supported, either immediately by citations, (SANS and GIAC require APA), or by the results of lab experiments referenced later in the technical report, or supporting technical documentation.
Body: The body of the technical report supports the executive summary and must be written to be useful to both management and technical colleagues. Cybersecurity reports commonly describe the issue at hand, risks, and expand on immediate, medium term, and long term recommendations that are briefly mentioned in the executive summary. NOTE: avoid the trap of explaining basic material. There is a tutorial for almost every 101 level topic. Simply reference the best tutorial on any subject your paper covers and move on to explain new, applicable, actionable, information.
In general the body is one of the largest sections of the document. Consider the use of white space, headings, subheadings, bulleted or numbered lists, tables and possibly color to help make the meaning of the information clear. If you see a single paragraph that is a half a page or longer that is a sign the body needs organizational work.
Conclusion or summary: The secret to great written and oral communication is to tell your audience what you are going to tell them, tell them about the issue with supportable detail, and then tell them you have told them. A good way to write a conclusion is to take the introduction, verify that you have covered all of its points and then summarize what you have shared. After you have written the conclusion, take the time to compare it to the executive summary to ensure that you have fully explained the information you wish to share with a C-level executive.
NOTE: it may be appropriate to mention opportunities for further research, or development, in the conclusion.
Additional technical information, lab notebooks, technical appendices: This is the part of the technical report targeted squarely at subject matter experts in the topic area. Screen shots, packet traces, output of tools and so forth are difficult to read. Place them at the end of the document, arrange them so that readers can see how the information supports your assertions, or duplicate your work. For additional guidance on a lab notebook, please see:
https://securitywa.blogspot.com/2017/11/sansedu-ise-6100-assignment-lab.html
Version 1.0 1/4/2018
Version 1.1 1/6/2018 Executive summary: make sure it is actionable. Body: move past the basics, avoid large blocks of text with no white space.
Abstract: This is your contract with your reader. It should be very concise and simply tell them what the document is about so they can decide it they wish to read it. This is different than an executive summary which tells the reader what they need to know. Try to target 100 - 200 words.
Executive Summary: Even though this is part of the technical report, consider printing separate one page copies of the executive summary, or paginating the technical report, so that busy senior executive can simply refer to this part of the report to learn what the authors and reviewers feel they need to know. Make sure you are clear on actionable recommendation. For more specific guidance on the executive summary please see:
https://securitywa.blogspot.com/2017/11/tips-for-success-writing-executive.html
Introduction: This part of the technical paper establishes the structure of the information you wish to share. Ideas, concepts, or issues brought up in the introduction should be aligned with the executive summary and fully explored, or explained in the body of the paper. NOTE: assertions in the introduction should be supported, either immediately by citations, (SANS and GIAC require APA), or by the results of lab experiments referenced later in the technical report, or supporting technical documentation.
Body: The body of the technical report supports the executive summary and must be written to be useful to both management and technical colleagues. Cybersecurity reports commonly describe the issue at hand, risks, and expand on immediate, medium term, and long term recommendations that are briefly mentioned in the executive summary. NOTE: avoid the trap of explaining basic material. There is a tutorial for almost every 101 level topic. Simply reference the best tutorial on any subject your paper covers and move on to explain new, applicable, actionable, information.
In general the body is one of the largest sections of the document. Consider the use of white space, headings, subheadings, bulleted or numbered lists, tables and possibly color to help make the meaning of the information clear. If you see a single paragraph that is a half a page or longer that is a sign the body needs organizational work.
Conclusion or summary: The secret to great written and oral communication is to tell your audience what you are going to tell them, tell them about the issue with supportable detail, and then tell them you have told them. A good way to write a conclusion is to take the introduction, verify that you have covered all of its points and then summarize what you have shared. After you have written the conclusion, take the time to compare it to the executive summary to ensure that you have fully explained the information you wish to share with a C-level executive.
NOTE: it may be appropriate to mention opportunities for further research, or development, in the conclusion.
Additional technical information, lab notebooks, technical appendices: This is the part of the technical report targeted squarely at subject matter experts in the topic area. Screen shots, packet traces, output of tools and so forth are difficult to read. Place them at the end of the document, arrange them so that readers can see how the information supports your assertions, or duplicate your work. For additional guidance on a lab notebook, please see:
https://securitywa.blogspot.com/2017/11/sansedu-ise-6100-assignment-lab.html
Version 1.0 1/4/2018
Version 1.1 1/6/2018 Executive summary: make sure it is actionable. Body: move past the basics, avoid large blocks of text with no white space.
Tips for success: Writing an Executive Summary V 1.4
An executive summary should be included on most cybersecurity reports, proposals, analysis papers, and research papers. Points to consider when creating one include:
- Brevity and conciseness. It should target 200 - 300 words. That takes practice.
- Recommendations. If the paper is addressing a problem it should briefly mention immediate, medium and long term time frame actionable recommendations.
- Supportable and defensible. While the executive summary is designed for easy reading and digestion of information, supporting data should be easily available. This could be in the form of the accompanying paper, or appendices as appropriate.
- WIIFM. Whenever we communicate from someone else, we need to answer the question What's In It For Me. The C-suite will want to be briefed on why this information is important to the business.
- Well written. If it scores below 90 on Grammarly, you have work to do. Consider the "Napoleon's Private" test, ( have someone else read it and tell you what they feel it means).
- On topic. State the topic, problem, recommendation as needed. Do not put extraneous information in the executive summary.
- No humor. This is not a place for jokes or humor, they can be misinterpreted.
- Avoid acronyms and "techo babble". As techies we speak a different dialect of English than management. Avoid writing anything that is hard for them to understand.
- Designed to be scanned or read rapidly. In general, when you produce an executive summary, it is for someone above your pay grade. Don't make them work to get the message, Make it plain.
- Readable fonts and font sizes. It is very likely your organization has a style guide. Use it. Executives are accustomed to various formats. Under no circumstances shrink the font to make the executive summary fit on one page; your audience very likely has older eyes than you do.
Change history:
Version 1.1 don't use acronyms
Version 1.2 why do I care :)
Version 1.3 1/4/18 alignment with GSM 200 - 300 words, recommendations
Version 1.4 stress actionable
- Brevity and conciseness. It should target 200 - 300 words. That takes practice.
- Recommendations. If the paper is addressing a problem it should briefly mention immediate, medium and long term time frame actionable recommendations.
- Supportable and defensible. While the executive summary is designed for easy reading and digestion of information, supporting data should be easily available. This could be in the form of the accompanying paper, or appendices as appropriate.
- WIIFM. Whenever we communicate from someone else, we need to answer the question What's In It For Me. The C-suite will want to be briefed on why this information is important to the business.
- Well written. If it scores below 90 on Grammarly, you have work to do. Consider the "Napoleon's Private" test, ( have someone else read it and tell you what they feel it means).
- On topic. State the topic, problem, recommendation as needed. Do not put extraneous information in the executive summary.
- No humor. This is not a place for jokes or humor, they can be misinterpreted.
- Avoid acronyms and "techo babble". As techies we speak a different dialect of English than management. Avoid writing anything that is hard for them to understand.
- Designed to be scanned or read rapidly. In general, when you produce an executive summary, it is for someone above your pay grade. Don't make them work to get the message, Make it plain.
- Readable fonts and font sizes. It is very likely your organization has a style guide. Use it. Executives are accustomed to various formats. Under no circumstances shrink the font to make the executive summary fit on one page; your audience very likely has older eyes than you do.
Change history:
Version 1.1 don't use acronyms
Version 1.2 why do I care :)
Version 1.3 1/4/18 alignment with GSM 200 - 300 words, recommendations
Version 1.4 stress actionable
Tips for Success: Creating/maintaining a Lab Notebook
Executive Summary: a lab notebook in this context is a record of the research component of your group project.
Context: when you are assigned a 6100 group project you will be expected to:
- Receive the assignment, meet as a group to determine a plan of attack, produce and submit a project plan to satisfy the components of the assignment.
NOTE: faculty welcomes questions about the assignment. Contact data is embedded in your assignment.
- Begin development of a report. These vary based on the contemporary real world assignment your group is given, but in general have two major components:
+ A non-technical summary of your findings and recommendations
+ A technical report on the work that you did, the lab notebook
A lab notebook historically was a composition book, or similar paper record, where researchers logged their expectations, observations, experiments and results. Today in the automated world, while paper records are still useful they tend to be electronic, often including screen shots.
Example lab notebook from the PCAP contest.
When your lab notebook is graded, the faculty will be looking for the following components:
- A logical flow of experimentation based on the problem you were assigned and the solution approach outlined in the project plan.
- Expectations, hypotheses, theses, before you begin an experiment, there should be a clear understanding of what you are testing, what you hope to achieve.
- Details of the experiment sufficient to reproduce your results. This commonly includes essential record keeping: dates, times, locations, and software versions are common artifacts.
- Results, these can be fairly terse and informal, they will be summarized in the non-technical report
- Analysis, were the results what you expected? Do they affect the planned logical flow of experimentation.
NOTE: Unexpected results, miscalculations, surprises, happen, they are as much a part of research as expected results. Simply record what happened and your analysis. In some cases these may cause the group to update the project plan. That is not a problem, project plans are designed to be updated.
Context: when you are assigned a 6100 group project you will be expected to:
- Receive the assignment, meet as a group to determine a plan of attack, produce and submit a project plan to satisfy the components of the assignment.
NOTE: faculty welcomes questions about the assignment. Contact data is embedded in your assignment.
- Begin development of a report. These vary based on the contemporary real world assignment your group is given, but in general have two major components:
+ A non-technical summary of your findings and recommendations
+ A technical report on the work that you did, the lab notebook
A lab notebook historically was a composition book, or similar paper record, where researchers logged their expectations, observations, experiments and results. Today in the automated world, while paper records are still useful they tend to be electronic, often including screen shots.
Example lab notebook from the PCAP contest.
When your lab notebook is graded, the faculty will be looking for the following components:
- A logical flow of experimentation based on the problem you were assigned and the solution approach outlined in the project plan.
- Expectations, hypotheses, theses, before you begin an experiment, there should be a clear understanding of what you are testing, what you hope to achieve.
- Details of the experiment sufficient to reproduce your results. This commonly includes essential record keeping: dates, times, locations, and software versions are common artifacts.
- Results, these can be fairly terse and informal, they will be summarized in the non-technical report
- Analysis, were the results what you expected? Do they affect the planned logical flow of experimentation.
NOTE: Unexpected results, miscalculations, surprises, happen, they are as much a part of research as expected results. Simply record what happened and your analysis. In some cases these may cause the group to update the project plan. That is not a problem, project plans are designed to be updated.
Wednesday, December 6, 2017
Definition of an integrated NOC and SOC
NOTE: 99.99999 % of the credit for this post is the work of Nelson Hernandez, I am just trying to add enough whitespace to generate discussion for his SANS.EDU research project.
NOC: Network Operations Center
SOC: Security Operations Center
NOC: Network Operations Center
SOC: Security Operations Center
Integrating a NOC/SOC is convergence/integration at the:
- Organizational level, (i.e. common first level response) - triage, collaborate, cross correlate and potentially identify common patterns from NOC/SOC respective tools.
- System level: integrated ticketing and workflow - service level agreements, standard operating procedures, integrating processes and structures in place to allow operators to communicate and coordinate seamlessly
- Asset level. (shared sensors and event criticality information) - utilizing a common information aggregator that collects all the data required and then distributes it using integrated tools/dashboards.
The integration should allow collaboration on:
- Event Management
- Security Management (antivirus, intrusion detection/prevention systems)
- Endpoint Management
- Network Management (firewalls, router, switches, servers)
- Fault Management
- Configuration Management
- Performance Management.
- Accounting (Administration and Identity Access Management systems)
Complex issues are investigated by Level 2-3 SOC/NOC specialists to diagnose and pinpoint the nature of the infrastructure incidents more accurately. The integrated staff cross trains to expand their range of skills, adjust their mindsets and tap each other’s skillsets and experiences to identify, manage and resolve incidents effectively.
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
Coaching to Improve Performance
- Encourage Life Long Learning and that is Healthy!
- Promote Self Esteem
- Learn Goal Setting
- Encourage and Model Teamwork
- Develop Time Management Skills
- Learn About Dealing with Adversity
- Have Fun with the Task at Hand
Encourage Life Long Learning and that is Healthy!
Many people get comfortable with their abilities and cease to learn, or more commonly do all of their learning down one narrow subject area, i.e. willing to learn more about selling, but don't learn organizational skills. A coach can encourage and also help them get started to build new frames of references for learning in new areas. Success can lead to a greater willingness to continue life long learning. Consider this example from a life long learning blog about reading: Consider reading a book from your area of business. There are many great books related to your industry. Test drive one of them. Next, consider a web page on creative thinking or Kaizen.Promote Self Esteem
A coach gives the client an opportunity to associate with positive, supportive people. When you are surrounded by negative people who constantly put you and your ideas down, your self-esteem is lowered. On the other hand, when you are accepted and encouraged, you feel better about yourself in the best possible environment to raise your self-esteem.Learn Goal Setting
The majority of people seem to drift through life. A coach encourages a client to set goals and determine the steps to achieve those goals. A great coach goes beyond helping establish business or sports goals and also encourages life goals or major objectives. The goal setting guide points out that major goals can be specific or broad in scope, but they must always lead directly towards the Objective they support. They must also always have a deadline. A date you plan to accomplish the major goal by, a realistic date that not only motivates you into action but also ensures progress towards your Objective.Here are some of our favorite tips for setting goals from mindtools:
- State each goal as a positive statement: Express your goals positively - 'Execute this technique well' is a much better goal than 'Don't make this stupid mistake'
- Set a precise goal, putting in dates, times and amounts so that you can measure achievement. If you do this, you will know exactly when you have achieved the goal, and can take complete satisfaction from having achieved it.
- Set priorities: When you have several goals, give each a priority. This helps you to avoid feeling overwhelmed by too many goals, and helps to direct your attention to the most important ones.
- Write goals down: this crystallizes them and gives them more force.
Encourage and Model Teamwork
"Teamwork
is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to
direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It
is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results."
-Andrew Carnegie
A coach knows the importance of teamwork and models
the behavior of teamwork and takes advantage of opportunities to get
people to work together. A big part of this is getting people to work on
plans together. One of the most important job satisfiers for people is
that their opinion is considered important. If you can get the clients
to plan together, you can get them to execute the plan together. A coach
is a leader and knows that teamwork is only possible if the culture
supports it; sometimes organizations have a competitive atmosphere and
it is one employee against the other. Teamwork starts at the top, or cannot be sustainable. Indicators of a teamwork culture include, clear expectations from management that teamwork is expected, leading by example and management being team members themselves. Teamwork has to be rewarded and mentioned multiple times per year, we have to keep the vision before the people.
Develop Time Management Skills
A good coach knows what the time wasters are and tries to focus the client on the shortcuts, the organizational skills to do the job. One industry that teaches this very well is food service. Great chefs teach their clients to do it right and know the speed will come later. This is one area where a coach may use negative coaching (Don't do that, that is the wrong way. No, listen and try to get it this time), because if the client gets comfortable with the time wasters they may never be able to increase their performance. A good coach helps the client rank activities using something like the MSC method to sort tasks into urgent and important:- Must Do - Urgent tasks
- Should Do - Can be Urgent or Important
- Could Do - Can be Important if they lead to your ability to leave a legacy
Learn About Dealing with Adversity
Stuff happens! The question is what we do when it happens. Adversity builds character. The challenges we face teach us resourcefulness, self-reliance, courage, patience, perseverance, and self-discipline; and, struggles makes us heroic, for heroes and heroines are made by scaling mountains, not molehills. A coach knows that the client can only improve if they face adversity and therefore coaches are thankful for adversity and considers them opportunities for growth. We found this on the web, it seems like a nice way to view adversity: The PPPP program. First, don't PANIC, for all it does is immobilize you. To escape the clutches of fear, PLAN. That is, ask yourself what steps can be taken to improve the situation. Next, break down those steps into smaller tasks that are easier to carry out. Set a completion date for each task. Finally, work your plan by carrying out the action steps. As you do so, you will start making PROGESS. Keep building on your progress until you reach the level of PROSPERITY you desire.Have Fun with the Task at Hand
Stuff happens, but there are rich moments too. A coach knows how to savor the moment, as the Wide World of Sports put it, the thrill of success and the agony of defeat. If the client has been cast into their role properly, they should be having a great time. A coach reinforces this (Isn't this great?, Life is good indeed, it doesn't get better than this).Summary
A Better Perspective's survey of human resource and personnel specialists reported the top three main benefits of coaching to the organization as:- Allows fuller use of individual's talents/potential 79%
- Demonstrates commitment to individuals and their development 69%
- Higher organizational performance/productivity 69%
Summary:
A coach is a person who enables clients to master specific skills and knowledge and to develop abilities. Like counselors and mentor, coaches offer prescriptive advice, error analysis, expert opinions and "how to" guidance. Coaching is one of the keys to business execution. If an otherwise skilled employee is struggling with a particular skill or ability, coaching can help them get over the hump. There are seven primary benefits a coach passes on to the client: Encourage Life Long Learning and that is Healthy!; Promote Self Esteem; Learn Goal Setting; Encourage and Model Teamwork; Develop Time Management Skills; Learn About Dealing with Adversity; and, Have Fun with the Task at Hand.
Updated: 11/29/17
Monday, September 18, 2017
CCleaner and bestill by beating heart.
I was working on NewsBites upcoming story:
CCleaner Utility Was Infected with Malware (September 18, 2017)
Researchers at Cisco’s Talos have found that download servers used to distribute the CCleaner utility were also surreptitiously delivering malware along with the software. The legitimate, signed version of CCleaner, 5.53, included malware that gathered user information and sent it to a third party. Avast, which distributed CCleaner, estimated that the infected version of the utility had been downloaded by 2.27 million users. The infected version of CCleaner is no longer available for download.
Read more in:
Cisco Talos: CCleanup: A Vast Number of Machines at Risk
http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/09/avast-distributes-malware.html
So I clicked on the link and:
Now you know and I know it had to be coincidence, but I run CCleaner so this one took a few deep breaths.
CCleaner Utility Was Infected with Malware (September 18, 2017)
Researchers at Cisco’s Talos have found that download servers used to distribute the CCleaner utility were also surreptitiously delivering malware along with the software. The legitimate, signed version of CCleaner, 5.53, included malware that gathered user information and sent it to a third party. Avast, which distributed CCleaner, estimated that the infected version of the utility had been downloaded by 2.27 million users. The infected version of CCleaner is no longer available for download.
Read more in:
Cisco Talos: CCleanup: A Vast Number of Machines at Risk
http://blog.talosintelligence.com/2017/09/avast-distributes-malware.html
So I clicked on the link and:
Now you know and I know it had to be coincidence, but I run CCleaner so this one took a few deep breaths.
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