Beyond the Perimeter: Building Security Cultures That Protect People, Not Just Assets [Webinar]

A Career HQ presentation contributed by the Professional Development Community

Today's most effective security threats don't breach walls — they breach minds, making the human dimension of security culture more urgent and consequential than ever. This program brings together two expert perspectives on what it truly takes to build organizations where people are as protected as the assets they safeguard.

The security perimeter has moved — and most organizations don't know it yet. Today's most sophisticated adversaries bypass technical controls entirely, targeting the beliefs, emotions, and judgment of the people inside your organization. In the first half, security culture expert and researcher Dr. Paul Wood draws on the latest research in relational security, emotional culture, and cognitive warfare to deliver a framework senior practitioners can act on immediately. You will leave with practical strategies to build a security culture that is resilient by default — and the tools to protect your people's ability to think clearly under pressure.

At the end of Dr. Wood's presentation, you'll be able to:

1. Assess and strengthen the emotional culture of their security program  Identify the difference between cognitive and emotional culture, recognize the conditions that suppress or enable security vigilance, and apply evidence-based strategies — including psychological safety, caring leadership, and peer-led change — to build a security culture that is resilient by default.
2. Apply a sensemaking framework to defend against cognitive and adaptive threats Understand why recognition-based training fails against sophisticated adversaries, and implement a structured approach — including scenario-based exercises, structured debrief, and challenge culture — that develops human judgment rather than pattern-matching, equipping teams to detect and respond to novel threats.
3. Articulate cognitive manipulation as a material organizational risk Define cognitive warfare and its primary attack vectors, evaluate their organization's current exposure, and frame cognitive risk in operational and financial terms suitable for board-level presentation and inclusion in the enterprise risk register.

In the second half, John Rodriguez, founder of Empathic Security Cultures, examines the foundational principles security leaders need to move the needle on engagement and retention. Understanding what makes people vulnerable is only part of the equation — knowing how to build the trust and connection that make them genuinely committed to security is where lasting culture change begins. 

Influencing culture is the differentiator for security leaders, and a company's culture directly impacts employee engagement, talent retention, and business success. The second half of the webinar  highlights foundational concepts for success by understanding that corporate security is part science, part art — with the Art of Human Connection as the centerpiece for practitioners ready to introspectively assess and strengthen their own leadership philosophy.

At the end of Mr. Rodriguez's presentation, you'll be able to:

1. Define the science and art of corporate security:  The science categories of our profession are basic expectations of the business leaders.  Understanding and successfully influencing from the C-Suite to the front-line workforce via human connection is the non-linear, challenging and often discouraging aspects – but the most gratifying when achieved. 
2. Embrace simplicity: Security Culture defined in 4 simple aspects.  Experienced and wise security practitioners understand the importance and value of simplicity.  All will have their definition of security cultures, and this simple model can add to your strategy. 
3. Understanding what trust is and isn’t: Striving for trust.  You don’t get to decide if trust is achieved, the other person does.  Our work is to constantly work to build it and have the self-awareness of what can derail that journey.

Together, the speakers offer a complete view of security culture — from defending against cognitive threats to cultivating the trust and human connection that make resilience possible from within.

Speakers*

Dr. Paul Wood CSyP ChCSP CiiSCM CIISec FSyI FIoL FRGS RSES SIRM CPP CISM CRISC SRMC

Dr. Paul Wood is a globally recognized security leader, researcher and practitioner and the founder of Emerging Risks Global (ERG), a specialist consultancy delivering intelligence-led, risk-based security and resilience solutions to corporations, government agencies and locations of national importance worldwide.

Paul holds a Doctorate in Security Risk Management and is one of the most credentialled security professionals in the field; a Chartered Security Professional, Chartered Cyber Security Professional, Fellow of the Security Institute, Fellow of the Institute of Leadership, ASIS Certified Protection Professional (CPP), ISACA Certified Information Security Manager (CISM) and Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC). He is a Principal Member of the Register of Security Engineers and Specialists, an ISO 27001 Lead Auditor, an accredited Investigator, an Insider Threat Principal and a BRE Registered Professional.

Paul sits on the Board of the UK Security Institute, while also advising a number of global industry standards committees. He oversaw the review of the MSc in International Security and Risk Management delivered by the Linx International Group in partnership with the University of West London.

His research and practitioner work has consistently focused on the intersection of human behavior, trust and security culture. He is the originator of the Relational Security framework, a behavioral change-based approach that challenges organizations to move beyond compliance and technology and to cultivate the emotional and relational conditions that make people genuinely care about security. This work, published in Professional Security Magazine and presented to audiences across industry and academia, reframes security culture as an affective as well as a cognitive challenge and positions people as simultaneously an organization's greatest threat, vulnerability and strength.

More recently, Paul has expanded this foundation into the emerging domain of cognitive warfare and cognitive security. Through ERG's SecureMind ® program and The Human Factors Labs ®, he develops and delivers evidence-based frameworks to help organizations protect the most critical and overlooked asset in the modern threat landscape: the human capacity to think clearly, exercise sound judgement, and resist manipulation. His research on AI-enabled social engineering, sensemaking and the defense of human judgment is at the leading edge of where the security profession must now go.

Paul presents regularly to global audiences, including ASIS International, and is a compelling and challenging voice for a profession that must evolve as fast as the threats it faces.

John Rodriguez - Founder | Empathic Security Cultures, LLC

John brings 43+ years of pure corporate security experience working for major corporations including General Motors, Kimberly-Clark, Levi Strauss & Co., and Cardinal Health (35 years in Latin America/Caribbean). He previously was the Chief Security Officer for Temple-Inland in Austin, TX.  He also owned a consulting firm for 10 years with over 100 Fortune 500® clients from 1995-2004.   

He is a globally recognized expert in corporate security culture development resulting in employee engagement, talent retention and attraction as well as achieving trusted business partner status and commercial profitability.

While with Kimberly-Clark Corporation, security director for Latin American Operations, the company was ranked #1 of 1,900 companies from 2009-2011 by the Great Place to Work Institute® John’s innovative security strategies were recognized by senior leadership as critical contributions to those years of #1 rankings. Business sales ranked 1st or 2nd place in every country of operation.

He holds a Master’s of Liberal Arts (Humanities), Texas Christian University and a Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice, North Texas State University. He also completed the Chief Security Officer Executive Development Program, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.  He earned his CPP certification in 1989 and maintained it for 18 years.

He has lectured for the largest security association - ASIS International (member), the U.S. State Dept. Overseas Advisory Council (OSAC) (member), the International Security Management Association (ISMA) (former member), Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), (member), as well as other groups.  This includes presenting 17 times for ASIS at a global level at GSX, webinars and author over 30 years.  

John is a Certified Family Support Group Facilitator with NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Health, and gives back to the community by leading support group discussions as well as training at law enforcement academies as part of their Crisis Intervention Team curriculum in the Greater Austin, TX area.  

John earned his facilitator certificate from the Center for Building a Culture of Empathy, and as a student of psychology, social psychology, and neuroscience, earned a Certification in the Foundations of NeuroLeadership program with the NeuroLeadership Institute. 

Topic: Managing Organizations, Professional Development

Credit Information: Completion of this webinar is eligible for 1 CPE credit.    

Translation Captioning Available: This webinar includes AI translation captioning in English, Arabic, French, and Spanish (Latin American). The translation feature is available both during the live session and for the on-demand version. You may select your preferred language in the webinar session.