Improve security program portfolio framing

Author: DCMedic

README.md

@@ -1,66 +1,78 @@
-# security-program-starter
+# Security Program Starter
 
-A portfolio-ready security program repository that demonstrates practical cybersecurity governance, incident response planning, and lightweight risk management.
+A practical cybersecurity-governance repository for incident response, risk management, repeatable security operations, and business-facing security communication.
 
-This repository is designed to showcase an employer-friendly blend of:
-- Incident response documentation
-- Security operations process design
-- Risk register management
-- Business-aligned security communication
-- Documentation quality and maintainability
-
-It is intentionally defensive and organizational in nature. It does not include exploit code, offensive tooling, or destructive capabilities.
+This project complements my engineering repositories by focusing on the organizational side of trustworthy systems: policies, roles, escalation paths, risk decisions, and the procedures people need when technology fails or behaves unexpectedly.
 
 ## What is included
 
-### 1. Incident response program documents
-Core program documents that define how an organization prepares for, responds to, and learns from security incidents.
+### Incident response program documents
+Core documentation for preparing for, responding to, recovering from, and learning from security incidents.
+
+### Scenario runbooks
+Action-oriented playbooks for common events, including:
 
-### 2. Runbooks
-Actionable, scenario-specific playbooks for common security events:
 - Ransomware
 - Phishing
 - Account compromise
-- Lost device
+- Lost devices
 - Suspicious login activity
 
-### 3. Templates
-Reusable forms and structured templates for:
+### Reusable templates
+Structured material for:
+
 - Incident reporting
 - Post-incident reviews
 - Risk assessments
 - Vendor security reviews
 - Business impact assessments
 
-### 4. Lightweight risk register
-A simple CSV-based risk register suitable for small businesses, startups, student projects, or early-stage governance programs.
+### Lightweight risk register
+A CSV-based risk register suitable for small organizations, student environments, prototypes, and early-stage security programs.
+
+### Validation tooling
+Python-based checks help verify that the risk register maintains the expected structure and scoring values.
+
+## Why this project matters
 
-### 5. Validation tooling
-A small Python validation script and tests to ensure the risk register has the expected structure and scoring values.
+Secure systems depend on more than secure code. Organizations also need clear ownership, defined response authority, usable procedures, documented assumptions, and a way to reason about tradeoffs.
 
-## Why this repository matters
+This repository demonstrates my interest in connecting technical controls with operational reality. The same questions appear in both governance and engineering:
 
-Many technical portfolios focus only on code. This repository demonstrates the ability to:
-- Build repeatable security processes
-- Communicate clearly with leadership and stakeholders
-- Align operational security with business risk
-- Create documentation that teams can actually use
-- Think like a future security analyst, GRC professional, incident responder, or security manager
+- Who is authorized to act?
+- What evidence supports the decision?
+- What happens when a control fails?
+- How is the event recorded and reviewed?
+- What risk remains after mitigation?
 
-## Quick start
+Those questions also inform my work on cyber-physical systems and trustworthy automation.
 
-Clone the repository and review these files first:
+## Start here
+
+Review these files first:
 
 - `docs/security-program-overview.md`
 - `docs/incident-response-policy.md`
 - `runbooks/ransomware.md`
 - `risk_register/risk_register.csv`
 
-To validate the risk register locally:
+Validate the risk register locally with:
 
 ```bash
 python -m venv .venv
-source .venv/bin/activate
+source .venv/bin/activate  # Windows: .venv\Scripts\activate
 pip install -e ".[dev]"
 python tools/validate_risk_register.py risk_register/risk_register.csv
-pytest
+pytest
+```
+
+## Portfolio context
+
+Security Program Starter shows the governance and response side of the same broader engineering philosophy behind my other projects: make trust explicit, preserve evidence, define authority, anticipate failure, and design systems and procedures that remain understandable under pressure.
+
+Related work:
+
+- [BattleReef Marine Controller](https://github.com/DCMedic/BattleReef-Marine-Controller)
+- [SOC Log Triage](https://github.com/DCMedic/soc-log-triage)
+- [Secure Notes API](https://github.com/DCMedic/secure-notes-api)
+- [About / Portfolio](https://github.com/DCMedic/about-dcmedic)