LinkedIn Has a Cybersecurity Community Problem

Many of the cybersecurity professionals I work with are giving up on LinkedIn for community building and using it as their guilty pleasure. And I tend to agree. If you’re not already connected to influential individuals who trust you and consistently engage with your content, your chances of building a community are slim.

Successful outcomes like career advancement, new business opportunities, and peer problem-solving can take many years of grueling effort.

To succeed on LinkedIn, you need help from a small army of influential users to build up your credibility and visibility. When influential users comment on your post early—they increase post reach by up to 15x by signaling to the algorithm that the content is high-value and worth amplifying

LinkedIn cybersecurity influencers can be identified through these ten criteria:

1. Frequent speaker at tier-one events (RSAC, Black Hat, DEF CON)
2. Author of security research, blogs, or whitepapers
3. Endorsed certifications (CISSP, OSCP, GIAC)
4. Contributor to open-source tools or threat intel repositories
5. Award recipient (SC Media, Cybersecurity Excellence Awards)
6. Featured guest on podcasts or industry webinars
7. High-subscriber LinkedIn newsletter on cybersecurity
8. Cited in analyst reports or quoted by tech media
9. Recurring panelist at CISO or industry roundtables
10. Multi-domain expertise across GRC, cloud, threat intel, etc.

To illustrate the power of influence on LinkedIn, consider an experiment run by an industry contact, comparing two CISOs who posted the exact same piece of content:

• Mid Cap Public Co CISO (20 years experience, 4K followers), started at the very bottom, climbed up through the ranks and demonstrated lasting value in every role: The post was buried in 24 hours.
• Fortune 100 Big Tech CISO (20 years experience, 17K followers), had powerful mentor in year 1 leading to accelerated career progression, becoming a CISO in 7 years: The post gained traction for weeks—leading to connection requests, podcast invites, and press outreach.

So yes, LinkedIn can work for community building, but only if you already have a community!

Unfortunately, the cybersecurity influencers you so desperately want to reach didn’t build relationships on LinkedIn or use it for their community building strategy. Many started with industry visibility, had strong mentors, or maybe even grew up in the right ZIP codes. They brought their audiences with them—via conference stages, media coverage, or executive roles—and used LinkedIn to scale. Many of them do not interact with non-influencers- or even notice their content or messages.

Visibility requires a network. But a network requires visibility.

It’s a paradox. The cybersecurity professionals I talk to tell me how easy it is to get stuck endlessly scrolling, trying to reverse-engineer influence, wondering why expertise isn’t enough to build new connections and trust with influential leaders.

And there’s a lot of bad advice out there to try to help you “go viral.” LinkedIn encourages performative engagement. Likes, comments, and memes become currency. Complex, sensitive topics? Too risky for the algorithm.

The deeper issue is cultural: LinkedIn rewards attention, not thought leadership. Professionals become content consumers—not contributors. Of course, LinkedIn wants you to stay on the platform as long as possible so they can serve you more advertising. Noise wins. Nuance loses.

But cybersecurity doesn’t need more noise. It needs trust-building activities:

• Professionals solving real-world problems
• Experts sharing hard-earned insights
• Strategic thinkers elevating the conversation
• Communicators making complexity actionable

Given LinkedIn’s limitations—its algorithmic barriers, lack of deep engagement, and focus on vanity metrics—cybersecurity professionals need a platform designed for their unique needs. It shouldn’t take years of grueling outreach to find your people.

That’s where CyberEdBoard comes in. CyberEdBoard is the community we wish existed when we were starting out.

It’s not for people born with a technological silver spoon. It’s for the pros who fought their way up on talent alone—and now deserve visibility, mentorship, and community.

Built by ISMG, it’s the trusted alternative to LinkedIn for cybersecurity pros who want something deeper than vanity metrics.

Here’s how it works:

• Private, confidential forums for honest conversations
• Event-driven networking via curated panels and virtual meetups
• Problem-solution matchmaking to connect you with peers who’ve solved what you’re facing
• 100% cybersecurity focus—no distractions, no algorithm games and no pushy sales executives sending you messages.

The result? You stop shouting into the void and start building real relationships—with Fortune 100 CISOs, startup founders, policy leaders, and everyone in between. And the irony is your CyberEdBoard community can help you grow your following on LinkedIn, because they trust and believe in you. And more importantly, had the time to really get to know what you stand for.

Cybersecurity professionals deserve a networking platform that reflects the gravity of their work, the complexity of their challenges, and the authenticity of their intent.

That’s why CyberEdBoard isn’t just a platform. It’s a movement.