Sign-In
Cart
Resistance manual for accidental CISOs: How to take on the role, protect yourself, and improve security when you arrive without a team, budget, or net
Paperback
Series: Essential Cybersecurity
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Jan 21 2026
Pages: 246
Weight: 0.64
Height: 0.52 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
Not all CISOs step into the role out of vocation or with the right context. Many arrive without a team, without a budget, without a clear mandate-and with the implicit expectation that nothing can go wrong. This book is written for them.
A Resistance Manual for Accidental CISOs is not a technical treatise or a catalog of tools. It is a realistic guide for those who must govern security in imperfect organizations, make decisions with incomplete information, and sustain the role under constant pressure.
Throughout the book, it addresses the first days in the position, the critical decisions of the early weeks, risk management without bureaucracy, the relationship with executive leadership, the conscious use of frameworks and certifications, the most common mistakes of the accidental CISO, and the personal wear and tear that comes with the role. All of this is approached with a clear principle: judgment before perfection.
You will not find promises of zero risk or universal recipes here. Instead, you will find practical concepts such as minimum viable visibility, lightweight governance, the lite incident response plan, documentation as self-protection, and negotiating with data rather than fear. Tools to decide, explain, and sustain decisions when resources never arrive as they should.
This book defends an uncomfortable but liberating idea: a good CISO is not the one who prevents every incident, but the one who helps the organization make better decisions before, during, and after them.
If you have just stepped into the role, if you have been feeling the wear for some time, or if you want to exercise the function with more judgment and less epic heroics, this book does not promise comfort. It offers something far more valuable: professional resilience.
Also from
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Industrial Cybersecurity Architecture and Governance: Governance of automation systems in critical environments
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
NMAP en Pentesting, Auditoría y Análisis de Redes: Guía Completa para el Descubrimiento, Seguridad y Automatización en Infraestructuras Modernas
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Living off the Land: A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding, Detecting, and Mitigating Living-Off-The-Land Attacks in Cybersecurity
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Grundlagen der industriellen Cybersicherheit und des Betriebs: Schutz von Automatisierungssystemen in kritischen Umgebungen
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Fundamentals of Industrial Cybersecurity and Operations: Protecting automation systems in critical environments
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Fundamentos de la Ciberseguridad Industrial y Operaciones: Protección de sistemas de automatización en entornos críticos
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Arquitectura y Gobierno de la Ciberseguridad Industrial: Gobierno de sistemas de automatización en entornos críticos
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Threat Intelligence in OT Environments: How to design, build, and mature an industrial threat intelligence system focused on operational risk
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Introducción al pentesting en entornos OT/ICS: Metodología, Laboratorios y Explotación de Sistemas Industriales
Renales Agüero, Raúl
Paperback
Also in
Computer Security
Dawn of the Code War: America's Battle Against Russia, China, and the Rising Global Cyber Threat
Graff, Garrett M.
Carlin, John P.
Paperback
CompTIA Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam Guide, Ninth Edition (Exam N10-009)
Weissman, Jonathan S.
Paperback
5 Habits of the Tech-Ready Family: Raising Wise Kids in a Wild Digital World
McKenna, Chris
Paperback
Spies, Lies, and Cybercrime: Cybersecurity Tactics to Outsmart Hackers and Disarm Scammers
O'Neill, Eric
Hardcover
Comptia A+ Complete Study Guide, 2-Volume Set: Volume 1 Core 1 Exam 220-1201 and Volume 2 Core 2 Exam 220-1202
Buhagiar, Jon
Docter, Quentin
Paperback
Isc2 Cissp Official Study Guide & Practice Tests Bundle
Gibson, Darril
Chapple, Mike
Stewart, James Michael
Paperback
Linux Basics for Hackers, 2nd Edition: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali
Occupytheweb
Paperback
Comptia Security+ Study Guide with Over 500 Practice Test Questions: Exam Sy0-701
Seidl, David
Chapple, Mike
Paperback
Blown to Bits: Your Life, Liberty, and Happiness After the Digital Explosion
Ledeen, Ken
Lewis, Harry
Abelson, Hal
Paperback
Isc2 Cissp Certified Information Systems Security Professional Official Study Guide
Gibson, Darril
Stewart, James Michael
Chapple, Mike
Paperback
Don't Trust Your Gut: Using Data to Get What You Really Want in Life
Stephens-Davidowitz, Seth
Paperback
Password Logbook (Hip Floral): Keep Track of Usernames, Passwords, Web Addresses in One Easy and Organized Location
Editors of Rock Point
Hardcover
Hacking & Tor: The Complete Beginners Guide To Hacking, Tor, & Accessing The Deep Web & Dark Web
Jones, Jack
Paperback
From Heatmaps to Histograms: A Practical Guide to Cyber Risk Quantification
Martin-Vegue, Tony
Paperback
Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin's Most Dangerous Hackers
Greenberg, Andy
Paperback
Cult of the Dead Cow: How the Original Hacking Supergroup Might Just Save the World
Menn, Joseph
Paperback
Digital Ethics in the Age of AI: Navigating the ethical frontier today and beyond
Mehan, Julie
Paperback
The Cybernetic Society: How Humans and Machines Will Shape the Future Together
Husain, Amir
Hardcover
Comptia A+ Complete Review Guide: Core 1 Exam 220-1201 and Core 2 Exam 220-1202
McMillan, Troy
Paperback
Comptia A+ Complete Certification Kit: Core 1 Exam 220-1201 and Core 2 Exam 220-1202
Buhagiar, Jon
McMillan, Troy
Docter, Quentin
Paperback
AWS Certified Security Study Guide: Specialty (Scs-C02) Exam
Mu¿oz, Mauricio
Moraes, Alexandre M. S. P.
Goldfarb, Dario Lucas
Paperback
Container Security: Fundamental Technology Concepts That Protect Cloud Native Applications
Rice, Liz
Paperback
Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do about It
Knake, Robert
Clarke, Richard A.
Paperback
Countdown to Zero Day: Stuxnet and the Launch of the World's First Digital Weapon
Zetter, Kim
Paperback
Humorous Cryptograms: 300 Large Print Puzzles To Keep You Entertained (Large Print Edition)
Nest, Game
Paperback
Home Assistant for Beginners: Build a private smart home without relying on the cloud
Haagenrud, Thom
Paperback
Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion, and the Global Fight for Democracy
Deibert, Ronald J.
Paperback
The Future of Hacking: The Rise of Cybercrime and the Fight to Keep Us Safe
Scherling, Laura S.
Hardcover
Data Engineering for Cybersecurity: Build Secure Data Pipelines with Free and Open-Source Tools
Bonifield, James
Paperback
Cisa Certified Information Systems Auditor Study Guide and Practice Tests Bundle: Covers 2024 Exam Objectives
Gregory, Peter H.
Chapple, Mike
Paperback
Hackers Underground Knowledge: Quick and easy way to learn secret hacker techniques
Kohler, Martin
Paperback
Mobile Forensic Investigations: A Guide to Evidence Collection, Analysis, and Presentation, Second Edition
Reiber, Lee
Paperback
Serious Cryptography, 2nd Edition: A Practical Introduction to Modern Encryption
Aumasson, Jean-Philippe
Paperback
The Book of Pf, 4th Edition: A No-Nonsense Guide to the OpenBSD Firewall
Hansteen, Peter N. M.
Paperback
Privacy and Security for Large Language Models: Hands-On Privacy-Preserving Techniques for Personalized AI
Lin, Baihan
Paperback
The Secure Board: How To Be Confident That Your Organisation Is Cyber Safe
Leibel, Anna
Pales, Claire
Paperback
The Smartest Person in the Room: The Root Cause and New Solution for Cybersecurity
Espinosa, Christian
Paperback
Hacking and Security: The Comprehensive Guide to Penetration Testing and Cybersecurity
Kloep, Peter
Kofler, Michael
Gebeshuber, Klaus
Paperback
Cilium: Up and Running: Cloud Native Networking, Security, and Observability
Nikolic, Filip
Laverack, James
Vibert, Nico
Paperback
Comptia A+ Complete Practice Tests: Core 1 Exam 220-1201 and Core 2 Exam 220-1202
O'Shea, Audrey
Paperback
Dissecting the Dark Web: Reverse Engineering the Tools of the Underground Economy
Kaye, Lindsay
Paperback
The Art of Deception: Controlling the Human Element of Security
Simon, William L.
Mitnick, Kevin D.
Paperback
Learning Serverless Security: Hacking and Securing Serverless Cloud Applications on Aws, Azure, and Google Cloud
Lat, Joshua Arvin
Paperback
Shit I Can't Remember: Keep track of usernames, passwords, web addresses in one easy & organized location
Books, Family's
Paperback
The Web Application Hacker's Handbook: Finding and Exploiting Security Flaws
Stuttard, Dafydd
Pinto, Marcus
Paperback
Raising Humans in a Digital World: Helping Kids Build a Healthy Relationship with Technology
Graber, Diana
Paperback
A Hacker's Mind: How the Powerful Bend Society's Rules, and How to Bend Them Back
Schneier, Bruce
Paperback
Meshtastic: A Comprehensive Guide to Off-Grid Mesh Communication: Second Edition
Rodgers, David A., Jr.
Paperback
Chasing Shadows: Cyber Espionage, Subversion, and the Global Fight for Democracy
Deibert, Ronald J.
Hardcover
Crypto Conned My 200K Nightmare: And 10 Key Steps To Safeguard Your Future
Holliday, Ed Doc
Paperback
Learn Computer Forensics - Second Edition: Your one-stop guide to searching, analyzing, acquiring, and securing digital evidence
Oettinger, William
Paperback
Cybersecurity - Attack and Defense Strategies - Third Edition: Improve your security posture to mitigate risks and prevent attackers from infiltrating
Diogenes, Yuri
Ozkaya, Erdal
Paperback
AI Governance Playbook: How to Secure, Control, and Optimize Artificial Intelligence Initiatives
Surdak, Chris
Smallwood, Robert F.
Paperback
Industrial Cybersecurity - Second Edition: Efficiently monitor the cybersecurity posture of your ICS environment
Ackerman, Pascal
Paperback
Evasion Engineering: Building Custom Red Team Tools for Modern Defenses
Chow, Dennis
Lasalvia, Michael
Paperback
Red Team Engineering: The Art of Building Offensive Tools and Infrastructure
Erdmann, Casey
Paperback
Comptia A+ Certmike: Prepare. Practice. Pass the Test! Get Certified!: Core 1 Exam 220-1201
Chapple, Mike
Paperback
Web Application Security: Exploitation and Countermeasures for Modern Web Applications
Hoffman, Andrew
Paperback
Scams, Hacking, and Cybersecurity: The Ultimate Guide to Online Safety and Privacy
Brooks-Kempler, May
Paperback
Zero Trust Networks: Building Secure Systems in Untrusted Networks
Gilman, Evan
Rais, Razi
Morillo, Christina
Paperback
Building a Career in Cybersecurity: The Strategy and Skills You Need to Succeed
Diogenes, Yuri
Paperback
Linux Basics for Hackers: Getting Started with Networking, Scripting, and Security in Kali
Occupytheweb
Paperback
Identity Attack Vectors: Strategically Designing and Implementing Identity Security, Second Edition
Rolls, Darran
Haber, Morey J.
Paperback
Nmap Network Scanning: The Official Nmap Project Guide to Network Discovery and Security Scanning
Lyon, Gordon
Fyodor
Paperback
Isc2 Ccsp Certified Cloud Security Professional Official Study Guide & Practice Tests Bundle
Chapple, Mike
Seidl, David
Paperback
Cisco ASA for Accidental Administrators: An Illustrated Step-by-Step ASA Learning and Configuration Guide
Crawley, Don R.
Paperback
Locksport: A Hackers Guide to Lockpicking, Impressioning, and Safe Cracking
Belgers, Walter
Weyers, Jos
Burrough, Matt
Paperback
The Mathematics of Secrets: Cryptography from Caesar Ciphers to Digital Encryption
Holden, Joshua
Paperback
Cism Certified Information Security Manager All-In-One Exam Guide [With CD (Audio)]
Gregory, Peter H.
Paperback
Hands-On Network Forensics: Investigate network attacks and find evidence using common network forensic tools
Jaswal, Nipun
Paperback
Comptia A+ Certmike: Prepare. Practice. Pass the Test! Get Certified!: Core 2 Exam 220-1202
Chapple, Mike
Paperback
Mastering Linux Security and Hardening - Third Edition: A practical guide to protecting your Linux system from cyber attacks
Tevault, Donald a.
Paperback
Cybersecurity for Everyone: Securing your home or small business network
Sadler, Terence L.
Paperback
Wireless Exploits And Countermeasures: Kali Linux Nethunter, Aircrack-NG, Kismet, And Wireshark
Botwright, Rob
Paperback
Cybersecurity Myths and Misconceptions: Avoiding the Hazards and Pitfalls That Derail Us
Metcalf, Leigh
Dykstra, Josiah
Spafford, Eugene
Paperback
Operation Carder Kaos: How One Agent Penetrated the Underground Economy
Latulip, Richard K.
Paperback
Digital Life Without the Stress: The Complete Beginner's Guide to Computers, Smartphones, and Internet for Seniors who want Independence
Valentini, Giovannijohnny
Paperback
Certificate of Cloud Security Knowledge (Ccsk V5) Study Guide: In-Depth Guidance and Practice
Thompson, Graham
Paperback
Malware Development for Ethical Hackers: Learn how to develop various types of malware to strengthen cybersecurity
Zhussupov, Zhassulan
Paperback
Het Kleine Bitcoinboekje: Waarom Bitcoin belangrijk is voor je vrijheid, financiën en toekomst
Ajiboye, Timi
Buenaventura, Luis
Vranova, Alena
Paperback
Learning Ransomware Response & Recovery: Stopping Ransomware One Restore at a Time
Preston, W. Curtis
Saylor, Michael
Paperback
Ethical Hacking for Beginners: A Step by Step Guide for you to Learn the Fundamentals of CyberSecurity and Hacking
Nastase, Ramon Adrian
Paperback
Software Security for Developers: With Examples in Java and Spring
Spilca, Laurentiu
Saikali, Adib
Paperback
Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time
Saydjari, O. Sami
Paperback