Episode 11: Communicating Cybersecurity to Non-Technical Stakeholders
Episode 11: Communicating Cybersecurity to Non-Technical Stakeholders
Welcome to Episode Eleven of the CYSA Plus Prep cast. Today, we’re covering one of the most underrated but essential skills in the cybersecurity analyst’s toolkit: communicating effectively with non-technical stakeholders. While your technical expertise forms the foundation of your role, your ability to explain cybersecurity risks, incidents, and mitigation strategies in clear and relatable terms is just as important. Whether you’re addressing executives, customers, or regulators, this skill ensures your message is understood, respected, and acted upon.
Effective communication with non-technical stakeholders is a daily reality for cybersecurity professionals. These stakeholders may include business managers, legal teams, compliance officers, board members, or even general users. While they may not fully grasp the technical intricacies of threats or vulnerabilities, they are deeply concerned with business continuity, legal exposure, public image, and customer trust. Your role as an analyst often involves translating complex security insights into decisions that protect those very concerns.
One of the most important strategies is using plain language. Avoid acronyms, technical jargon, or verbose tool-specific descriptions. Instead, opt for clear, everyday language that maps to the stakeholder’s role and interests. For instance, rather than saying, “This system is vulnerable to CVE-2023-21674 due to improper input validation,” you could say, “There’s a flaw that could let an attacker run harmful commands on this server, which may lead to a data breach.” The goal is to keep the message accessible while preserving its seriousness.
To ensure your message lands effectively, connect cybersecurity concerns directly to business impact. Stakeholders may not care about the mechanism of an exploit, but they care deeply about service downtime, financial loss, data privacy violations, and brand reputation. If you want leadership to act on a recommendation, make it clear how that action prevents revenue loss, avoids penalties, or protects customers. When cybersecurity is framed in business terms, decisions become easier and support becomes stronger.
Let’s take a practical example. Instead of explaining a “buffer overflow vulnerability,” you might say, “There’s a flaw that could allow someone to take unauthorized control of our systems. If exploited, it could lead to service outages or expose sensitive customer data.” That framing is more likely to trigger the response you need—whether that’s approving funding, prioritizing a patch, or revising internal processes—because it’s anchored in organizational risk, not code-level mechanics.
Visual storytelling is another powerful method for bridging the gap between technical and non-technical understanding. Use simplified diagrams, flowcharts, and dashboards to help explain relationships between threats, assets, and defenses. Charts showing trends in attack volume, incident resolution time, or risk exposure by department make cybersecurity data easier to interpret. These visuals let stakeholders grasp complex issues quickly, making your message both clearer and more engaging.
Tailoring your message to your audience is a golden rule. Executives prefer concise summaries: what the risk is, how it affects the business, and what needs to be done. They do not need to hear which SIM tool was used to detect the alert. On the other hand, if you’re speaking to an internal audit team or compliance officer, your message should include references to regulatory frameworks, control gaps, and supporting documentation. Understanding each audience’s priorities helps ensure your message resonates and drives appropriate action.
When communicating with customers or end users affected by a cybersecurity issue, clarity, transparency, and calm reassurance are essential. These messages should explain what happened in broad terms, what steps have been taken to protect users, and what the organization is doing to prevent a recurrence. Technical blame-shifting, deflection, or overcomplication only increases confusion and damages trust. Clear communication helps preserve credibility during moments of heightened concern.
Similarly, regulators and auditors expect well-documented, evidence-based responses. Your communication with them should link actions directly to compliance frameworks, control implementations, or audit findings. Avoiding ambiguity and maintaining transparency here is critical, as miscommunication can lead to formal investigations or penalties. The ability to articulate how your cybersecurity program aligns with legal and regulatory obligations is a major asset for your role.
Anticipating stakeholder concerns in advance helps you communicate more effectively. Think ahead about the questions they might ask: How likely is the threat? What’s the worst-case scenario? What will it cost to fix? Can it happen again? Proactively addressing these concerns in your initial communication builds confidence, shows preparation, and increases the likelihood that your recommendations will be taken seriously. Preparation leads to clarity—and clarity leads to trust.
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One of the most effective ways to bridge the gap between technical cybersecurity concepts and business-focused decision-making is to speak the language of risk. Frame cybersecurity discussions in terms that executives and stakeholders already understand—such as potential losses, risk exposure, return on investment, and mitigation strategies. When a security recommendation is linked to reduced downtime, reputational protection, or cost avoidance, it becomes more actionable and relevant to the people making the final decisions.
For example, if you’re proposing a new firewall upgrade, don’t lead with its packet inspection capabilities. Instead, explain how it will reduce the organization’s exposure to ransomware by filtering malicious traffic more effectively, helping to avoid operational disruption or data loss. By translating technical enhancements into concrete business value, you make it easier for non-technical leaders to support necessary investments in cybersecurity infrastructure and policy.
Proactive communication is just as important as reactive reporting. Let stakeholders know about potential vulnerabilities or emerging threats before they escalate. This helps build trust and demonstrates that the cybersecurity function isn’t just about putting out fires—it’s about anticipating problems and preventing them. Proactive updates help decision-makers stay informed, align teams early on, and reinforce a culture of readiness and transparency.
When sharing metrics or performance indicators, focus on clear, meaningful numbers that anyone can understand. Rather than providing highly technical logs or scan outputs, present simplified KPIs like “percentage of incidents resolved within SLA,” “number of phishing attempts blocked this month,” or “decrease in vulnerability exposure over the past quarter.” These metrics offer insight into your cybersecurity program’s effectiveness without overwhelming your audience with data they’re not equipped to analyze.
Your goal is not only to explain risks, but also to recommend what should happen next. Stakeholders appreciate clear, concise, and specific guidance. Tell them what action is required—such as approving additional budget, modifying a policy, or authorizing a security initiative—and explain the rationale for your recommendation. Vague suggestions create confusion and delay, whereas direct proposals empower leadership to make informed choices quickly and confidently.
Storytelling is a powerful method for helping non-technical stakeholders connect emotionally and intellectually with cybersecurity issues. Sharing recent news stories about breaches, insider threats, or ransomware attacks puts abstract risks into real-world context. Even anonymized internal case studies can drive home the impact of security decisions. By turning data into stories, you create urgency, relatability, and a clearer path to action.
Encouraging a two-way dialogue during cybersecurity discussions builds mutual understanding and cooperation. Listen actively to your stakeholders’ questions, concerns, and priorities. Show that you understand their perspectives—then gently guide the conversation back to cybersecurity implications and recommended actions. This not only strengthens trust but helps you frame your security initiatives in a way that aligns with broader organizational goals.
Offering ongoing education opportunities for non-technical stakeholders is another highly effective approach. Hosting cybersecurity awareness sessions, tabletop exercises, or short training workshops geared toward business audiences improves overall organizational security posture. These sessions help stakeholders better understand their own role in defending the organization, turning passive observers into proactive allies in your cybersecurity mission.
When crafting your message, always aim to enable informed decision-making. The goal isn’t just to share knowledge—it’s to ensure stakeholders have the right information, at the right level of detail, to confidently support cybersecurity initiatives. Whether they’re deciding on a budget proposal or determining acceptable risk levels, they need a clear understanding of the issue and its implications. You are the translator between security operations and strategic direction.
Finally, develop and maintain an ongoing relationship with stakeholders. Cybersecurity communication should not occur only in times of crisis. Regular updates—whether through email briefings, executive dashboards, or quarterly reports—keep security on the agenda and reinforce the idea that it’s a shared responsibility. A consistent, trustworthy communication rhythm fosters stakeholder confidence, encourages collaboration, and makes it easier to secure long-term support for security initiatives.
To summarize this episode, effectively communicating cybersecurity to non-technical stakeholders means translating complex threats into clear, relevant, and actionable messages. Whether you’re engaging with leadership, regulators, or customers, your ability to align technical information with business concerns builds trust, drives support, and strengthens your role as a cybersecurity analyst. Stay tuned as we continue to equip you with the full range of skills you’ll need to pass the CYSA Plus exam and thrive in your cybersecurity career.
