Building Security Programs from the Ground Up - Eddie Younker - Cyber Smokehouse - Episode #27

Take your cybersecurity program to the next level with powerful insights on structuring security reporting lines, combating shadow risk, and building an engaged, transparent team culture from scratch. It’s time to move past organizational blind spots, establish top-down AI guardrails, and align vulnerability management directly with business priorities. Who better to guide you through it than Fortune 100 security leader, former CISO at Hyundai Capital America, and former VP & CISO at LIV Golf, Eddie Younker?

You will learn how reporting directly to executive leadership eliminates conflicts of interest, why effective vulnerability management relies on business support rather than just IT execution, and how to foster a "family away from family" culture that achieves industry-leading employee engagement. Get motivated to build cross-functional relationships, educate leadership teams, and take a business-first approach to security!

Takeaways:

• The Power of Reporting Structure: Reporting directly to the CEO gives security leaders the visibility and authority needed to embed security into operational processes, whereas reporting under a CTO can create conflict between speed-to-market and risk management.
• Mitigating Shadow IT and AI Risks: Emerging tools and ad-hoc AI adoption create shadow risk across organizations; mitigating this requires clear corporate guardrails, top-down governance, and strong cross-departmental relationships.
• Business-Centric Vulnerability Management: Successfully patching high-priority vulnerabilities isn't just an IT task, it requires educating business stakeholders, managing tech debt, and securing executive buy-in to prevent operational downtime.
• Transparent and Inclusive Leadership: High-performing security teams are built on transparency, mutual respect, and hiring for complementary skill sets rather than redundant backgrounds.
• Practical Advice for Rising Security Leaders: Gaining broad experience across multiple security domains gives rising professionals the holistic perspective needed to apply security frameworks to real-world business environments.

Quote of the Show

"Building a security culture starts with the reporting structure... You need a structure that enables you to own security for the entire organization and drive governance that gets support from the business." - Eddie Younker\

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eddie-younker-19559a96/
• Website: https://www.livgolf.com/

Ways to Tune In:

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