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Top ISACA Resources of 2020

Author: ISACA
Date Published: 1 February 2021

In today’s rapidly changing technology landscape, continuing education and skills development are essential tools for professionals who wish to keep up. To contribute to the IT knowledge base, ISACA® is dedicated to creating relevant educational content that delivers value to members. In 2020, ISACA published more than 300 blog posts and articles, recorded 21 podcasts and hosted more than 50 webinars, offering more than 50 free continuing professional education (CPE) credits.

The following resources were the most read, listened to or watched in 2020:

Most Popular Blogs:

  1. “New Look Marks a New Era for ISACA”—ISACA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) David Samuelson explains the association’s new brand and looks ahead to the future after the recent celebration of ISACA’s 50th anniversary.
  2. “How I Passed the CISM Exam on the First Attempt”—An ISACA member shares 11 tips for passing the Certified Information Security Manager® (CISM®) exam.
  3. “Business Continuity—Pandemic Preparation”—Susan Snedaker, IT leader and award-winning author, shares 5 key considerations for a pandemic risk assessment.

Most Popular ISACA® Journal Articles:

  1. “Performing a Security Risk Assessment”—IT enterprise security risk assessments are performed to allow organizations to assess, identify and modify their overall security posture. This article describes how to enable security, operations, organizational management and other personnel to collaborate and view the entire organization from an attacker’s perspective.
  2. “An Ethical Approach to Data Privacy Protection”—Data privacy (or information privacy or data protection) is about access, use and collection of data, and the data subject’s legal right to the data. This article explores how the violation of privacy constitutes a risk—and thus, a threat to security.
  3. “Understanding and Applying Benford’s Law”—Almost all computer-assisted audit tools (CAATs) have a command for Benford’s Law. This article explains Benford’s Law, when it could apply and what constraints to consider before applying it in an IT audit.

Most Popular Industry News Articles:

  1. “Top Cyberattacks of 2020 and How to Build Cyberresilience”—To help chief information security officers (CISOs) and other business executives strengthen their cybersecurity resilience, this article explores some of the most impactful cyberincidents of 2020, lessons learned and how ISACA’s Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Cybermaturity Platform, which helps enterprises mitigate cybersecurity risk by identifying weaknesses and building resilience, could have helped reduce the impact of these threats.
  2. “Effective Capability and Maturity Assessment Using COBIT 2019”—COBIT® provides guidance to assist enterprises in making key governance system design decisions to successfully achieve enterprise goals and objectives. This article explains how COBIT® 2019 can be used to define governance and management within an enterprise.
  3. “Getting Started With CMMC, a US DoD Mandate for Cybersecurity”—On 31 January 2020, the US Department of Defense (DoD) introduced a new cybersecurity standard, the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). This article discusses why every cybersecurity and compliance professional, including senior executives, should raise their awareness of this important cybersecurity standard.

Most Popular Books or White Papers:

  1. Risk IT Framework, 2nd Edition—The new edition of the Risk IT Framework helps practitioners develop, implement and enhance the practice of IT risk management. It connects information and technology assets to the business context in which they are used.
  2. IT Audit Framework (ITAF™): A Professional Practices Framework for IT Audit, 4th Edition—ITAF outlines standards and best practices to follow during IT audit and assurance engagements.
  3. Conducting an IT Security Risk Assessment—Intended for those new to risk, this white paper provides guidance on the essential steps for conducting a successful security risk assessment to mitigate against potential damages.

Most Popular Podcasts:

  1. Fear is OK, But Complacency Will Kill You—2020 North America CACS Keynote Speaker Alison Levine, the first US women's Mount Everest expedition team captain, shares how lessons she learned on Mount Everest can apply in a business context.
  2. Lessons Learned From the First Ever Hack—Inventor Guglielmo Marconi, a key contributor to wireless telegraphy, did not want to engage with anyone who criticized his wireless telegraph technology, which he believed to be completely secure. But in 1903, magician Nevil Maskelyn hacked a wireless telegraph communication. While communication methods and technology have changed considerably since then, there are several lessons cybersecurity professionals can learn from Marconi and Maskelyn.
  3. Understanding and Addressing CISO Burnout—A recent survey found that 90% of chief information security officers (CISOs) would take a pay cut if it meant a better work/life balance. There are many reasons for CISO burnout, and a broader cultural shift is needed to combat the excessive pressure put on CISOs. In this podcast episode, ISACA security experts discuss the reasons for CISO burnout, why it is a problem and how it can be addressed. 

To access all ISACA articles, blog posts, podcasts and more, visit the Resources page of the ISACA website.