Top Strategy Targets The Hearts

In criminology, there are three elements — motives, opportunities and means.

To disrupt bad things, removing any of the three would work, but they’re not equal. That’s why a lot of places ban guns, cryptos…etc… Removing the means is easy to do, but most criminologists would have told you the effect is short-lived.

Some places ban the practices of pressure selling, and criminals using human natures against themselves, that is removing the opportunities, but still, it’s not easy to do, and the effect is very difficult to measure.

In the Art of War, it says “top strategy targets the hearts.” In this case, hearts are the minds of people, hence, I say, the top strategy targets the mindset. Removing the motives of doing something bad is the hardest to do, however, with the longest, everlasting effect.

Now apply this to information security then you’ll see the longest, everlasting effect too.

See Checks and Balances — Risks vs Mitigations for examples of GitHub RBAC in Company A, and Easy to Do the Right Things in Company B. Finally, if you want examples of a successful Security Champions programme, contact Lucian Corlan.