For Technical Leaders

You inherited security. Now make the calls.

A decision-grade course for CTOs, engineering managers, and accidental security owners. No “what is a firewall” — just the judgment calls experience would otherwise cost you: vendors, incidents, ransom, AI, hiring. Anchored in real incidents from Colonial Pipeline to MGM.

Start the course Free · No signup Browse the curriculum ↓
  • Time~8 hrs
  • LevelStrategic
  • FormatDecision scenarios
  • FinishCertificate

The brief

What you'll walk away with

  1. 01Act 1 · Anatomy

    The six pillars of a security program, and a NIST CSF crosswalk you can actually use.

  2. 02Act 1 · Assessment

    Find out where you actually stand before you spend a dollar.

  3. 03Act 2 · The business case

    Translate security into business language without becoming a fraud.

  4. 04Act 3 · Vendors & incidents

    Evaluate vendors that all claim “military-grade,” and run your first bad Friday.

  5. 05Act 3 · The hard calls

    Ransom decisions, regulators, insurers, lawyers, public comms.

  6. 06Decision scenarios

    Branching, state-aware simulations where your earlier choices gate what happens next.

“You don’t need to become a security practitioner. You need the judgment to make calls that hold up — on vendors, incidents, AI, risk, hiring, and the people you rely on.”

Curriculum

Three acts, nine modules

9 modules · 34 lessons · ~8 hrs

1

What a Security Program Actually Is

60 min 8 lessons Anatomy
Module Overview 2 min The Six Pillars 8 min People 8 min Devices 8 min Data 8 min Systems 8 min Vendors 8 min Incidents 8 min NIST CSF Crosswalk 6 min
2

Assessing Where You Are

45 min 3 lessons + scenario Anatomy
Module Overview 2 min The 48-hour Audit 10 min Questions That Reveal Maturity 8 min Metrics Worth Tracking 8 min Scenario: You Just Took the Job 15 min
3

Translating Security Into Business Language

55 min 4 lessons + scenario Making the case
Module Overview 2 min Why Security Feels Like a Cost Center 8 min The Three Audiences 10 min Budget Asks That Land 8 min Reporting Incidents Up 8 min Scenario: The Board Meeting 12 min
4

Vendor Evaluation

60 min 4 lessons + scenario + template Maturing
Module Overview 2 min What a SOC 2 Actually Says 8 min Build vs. Buy 8 min Concentration Risk 9 min Real Vendor or Paper Vendor 8 min Scenario: The MDR Contract Nobody's Happy With 15 min Template: Vendor Evaluation Worksheet 5 min
5

Incident Decision-Making

65 min 4 lessons + scenario + template Maturing
Module Overview 2 min Your Job During an Incident 8 min Regulators, Insurers, Lawyers 9 min Ransom Decisions 9 min Public Comms 8 min Scenario: Friday 4:47 PM 18 min Template: Incident Decision Log + Regulator Matrix 5 min

Act 3 — Modules 6–9

~3.5 hours 4 modules + templates Coming soon

AI governance decisions, risk prioritization, your first security hire, and awareness that isn't theater. Each with a state-driven decision scenario and a printable template.

Who it's for

The accidentally responsible

CTOs & VPs of engineering

Security rolled up to you. Make resourcing and risk calls with confidence.

Engineering managers & tech leads

You got the security hat without the training. This is the training.

First-time security leaders

Skip the years of scar tissue; keep the judgment it buys.

Take the seat

Judgment, not jargon.

Eight hours of decision practice against incidents that actually happened. Free, certificate at the end.

Start Act 1