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The Hidden Conflicts Inside Every Cyber Team with Dr. Nikki Robinson | 23
Cyber leadersPublished 26 Nov 2025
In this episode, Ciaran and James speak with Dr. Nikki Robinson – author, professor, and Senior Technical Staff Member and Senior Manager for Platform Development at IBM – about vulnerability management and human factors in cybersecurity. Nikki shares insights from her research into vulnerability chaining and how organisations can strengthen their approach to managing technical risk, as well as the human dynamics that shape security behaviour across teams.
Highlights
Overview of Nikki’s Achievements
An introduction to Nikki’s work; from her published books and patents to her research
Books
- Mind the Tech Gap: Addressing the Conflicts Between IT and Security Teams
- Effective Vulnerability Management: Managing Risk in the Vulnerable Digital Ecosystem
- Human Factors in Cybersecurity (forthcoming, 2026)
Presentation: Vulnerability Chaining in the Age of AI (SANS)
The Tech Gap
How communication can close the IT and security gap.
- 5 Steps for Improving Collaboration Between IT and Security Teams | CSO Online
- Bridging the IT and security team divide for effective incident response - Information Age
- The digital divide: Bridging the gap between security and IT teams – Intelligent Data Centres
- How To Bridge The Gap Between Security And IT
The Vulnerable Digital Ecosystem
How “vulnerability chaining” can turn small issues into major cyber threats.
- Log4J: What Everyone Needs to Know
- CVSS User Guide 2.0 (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) | CVSS User Guides v1-4
- Remote Code Execution (RCE) Explained
- 55 Software Vulnerabilities Reported Every Day
- National Vulnerability Database (NVD)
- Video: Vulnerability Chaining Explained
Human Factors in Cybersecurity
How cognitive load and cognitive overload can shape our ability to defend systems.
- Human Factors 101 – The Intersection of Psychology, Design, and Engineering
- Building a Firewall Against Cybersecurity Burnout (Hack the Box Report)
- (ISC)² Cybersecurity Workforce Study 2024
- Cognitive Overload: The Hidden Cybersecurity Threat
Additional Resources
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