I read an opinion piece in Dark Reading this week that made me think about leadership. Exabeam CISO Tyler Farrar asserted that the cybersecurity industry has a leadership problem. Recognizing the stresses of the job, Farrar called for “servant leaders” who serve their teams.

“Cybersecurity executives of this ilk are concerned about the well-being of the team, regularly checking in with team members on how they are doing, and removing roadblocks that harm operational performance,” Farrar said.

The next day, quite ironically, SANS Institute recognized several prominent and up-and-coming influencers across the industry at the 2022 Difference Makers Awards ceremony.

If our social media feeds are the manufactured lens through which we see the world, my view of the cybersecurity industry is informed by the incredibly passionate and generous professionals with whom I am connected on LinkedIn. While I don’t disagree with Farrar that teams should feel supported by their leaders, I do see many leaders who already rise to the task.

In his Security Boulevard blog, Dan Lohrmann looks back at cybersecurity teams in history to identify lessons learned about leadership. The most important lesson for leaders, Lohrmann said, is to “See the potential in your team, because you may just be managing a group of superstars (but remember that it may take you years to figure that out).”

So, I want to applaud the leaders of this industry who see the potential of their teams. In managing a group of superstars, they will make us all Stronger Together in 2023 and the years to come.

Now let’s take a look at what else made cybersecurity headlines this week.

Dec. 16: “In 2021, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received 847,376 complaints regarding cyberattacks and malicious cyber activity with nearly $7 billion in losses, the majority of which targeted small businesses,” CNBC reported.

Dec. 15: Included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 are dozens of new cybersecurity provisions that make up a “good chunk” of the $858 billion bill.

Dec. 15: Personal information of current and former employees was reportedly breached in a security incident at the San Diego Unified School District.

Dec. 15: After a service outage during the World Cup semifinal game, FuboTV’s Co-Founder and CEO issued a statement to customers saying, “While service was restored later that evening, I felt it’s important to let you know that yesterday’s incident was not related to any bandwidth issues on Fubo’s part, instead we were the target of a criminal cyber attack.”

Dec. 15: Infosecurity Magazine reported, “The National Security Agency (NSA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have unveiled new guidelines regarding the security risks associated with 5G network slicing and how to mitigate them.”

Dec. 14: With only three weeks remaining in his term as Governor, Charlie Baker issued an order to help streamline Massachusett’s strategy for detecting and responding to cyberattacks.

Dec. 14: Vulnerabilities in retail payment systems and the Internet of Things (IoT) pose security risks for retailers as more technologies are adopted to enhance the user experience.

Dec. 14: According to BleepingComputer, “The US Department of Justice has seized 48 Internet domains and charged six suspects for their involvement in running ‘Booter’ or ‘Stresser’ platforms that allow anyone to easily conduct distributed denial of service attacks.”

Dec. 13: Krebs on Security reported, “InfraGard, a program run by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to build cyber and physical threat information sharing partnerships with the private sector, this week saw its database of contact information on more than 80,000 members go up for sale on an English-language cybercrime forum.”

Dec. 13: “Retired Gen. Keith Alexander, the former National Security Agency director and head of U.S. Cyber Command, said on Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to continue using cyberattacks against Ukraine before using nuclear weapons," according to The Hill.