How to Build a Cybersecurity Team (That’s Not Just IT People): A Blueprint for Real Collaboration

Cybersecurity is more than protecting your servers. These days, threats come through emails, vendors, contracts, people, and processes. So why are most cybersecurity teams still built like it’s 2010?

What You’ll Walk Away With:  A breakdown of the roles — technical and non-technical — that you need on your cybersecurity team Simple explanations of why each role matters Tips for building trust and making collaboration work

If you want to take security seriously in today’s threat landscape, you need a team that brings together more than just IT. You need HR. You need legal. You need finance, communications, procurement — and someone who can get them all on the same page.

Here’s a blueprint to help you build exactly that.

Let’s Start with What Cross-Functional Cybersecurity Actually Means

It’s simple: cybersecurity can’t just sit in one department anymore. Cross-functional collaboration means different teams working together — IT, legal, HR, finance, comms, and more — to protect the business from all angles.

Why it matters:

• Threats are more complex, hitting from every angle
• Incidents need fast, coordinated responses
• Security must be part of every business process

One of the biggest blockers of this kind of teamwork? Silos. Teams guard their turf and don’t always share information. Getting past that means creating trust, shared goals, and the right structure for collaboration.

As Raine Chang of Kobalt.io put it, “It’s the amount and speed of innovation I see every day. Turn ‘we don’t do it that way here’ to: ‘We don’t do it that way here — yet. But could we? Would it be better?’”

That mindset shift is key to modern security work.

Step 1: Start with Your IT Security Core

This is your foundation. These are the folks managing systems, watching for threats, and responding fast when something breaks.

You’ll need:

• Security Engineers – Set up and maintains secure systems
• Security Analysts – Monitor for threats and respond fast
• Network Engineers – Keep your infrastructure protected
• IAM Specialists – Control who has access to what
• DevSecOps Engineers – Build security into software from the start

Hiring Tip: Look for people who have handled real-world incidents and understand cloud platforms and threat detection tools.

Step 2: Pull in Legal and Compliance

Security protects more than just data. It protects your business legally, too.

You’ll want:

• Legal Counsel – Understands privacy laws and incident handling
• Compliance Leads – Ensure you meet industry regulations

Hiring Tip: Choose people who collaborate well with IT while translating legal requirements into actionable policies.

 

Step 3: Bring in HR and Internal Comms

Your people are both your biggest risk and your biggest defense. HR and communications teams help manage behaviors, expectations, and responses.

You’ll need:

• HR Partners – Help onboard/offboard securely and handle insider threats
• Comms Leads – Make sure employees know what to do when it matters

Hiring Tip: Prioritize experience with training, change management, and crisis communications.

Step 4: Don’t Forget Finance and Procurement

Many security gaps show up through purchases and vendor access. Finance and procurement help spot them before they become problems.

You’ll need:

• Finance – Tracks budgets, identifies fraud, and supports security investments
• Procurement – Ensures vendors meet your security standards

Hiring Tip: Seek people who are experienced with audits, vendor evaluations, or contracts with data protection clauses.

Step 5: Assign a Program Owner to Tie It All Together

Someone needs to lead the charge. Otherwise, even the best teams end up working in silos again.

This might be:

• A CISO, Director, or Security Program Owner – Connects the dots, leads strategy, and keeps teams aligned

Hiring Tip: Look for a leader who can speak both tech and business — and is trusted across departments.

Step 6: Make Collaboration Work

Having the right people is step one. Making sure they work well together is step two. Here are five practical ways to cultivate stronger teamwork:

1. Set Clear Goals & Roles
   Don’t assume people know what’s expected. Spell it out. When kicking off a cross-team project, make sure every team knows what success looks like and what their specific role is.
2. Build Trust and Respect
   Value everyone’s perspective. Encourage open discussion, active listening, and make space for input from all departments.
3. Create Fast Feedback Loops
   Make it easy for teams to raise issues and course-correct quickly. Regular standups or informal check-ins go a long way.
4. Align on What Matters Most
   Before launching new initiatives, make sure teams agree on the goals of the project (and why those goals are important for the business). Clarity keeps everyone rowing in the same direction.
5. Celebrate Wins and Learn from Mistakes
   Recognize team efforts — big or small. And when something doesn’t go perfectly (which is most likely to happen), talk about it. Figure out what to improve next time.

Final Thought: Build the Right Team for Today’s Threats

You don’t need a 30-person department to get this right. But you do need a structure that reflects reality. Threats aren’t just technical — they’re operational, legal, behavioral, and strategic.

Start with what you have. Add what you’re missing. Make collaboration the norm, not the exception.

Cybersecurity isn’t one team’s job. It’s everyone’s job — and now you’ve got the blueprint to make that work.