January 19, 2024 at 01:12PM
A survey of 663 security executives revealed that CISOs are increasingly expected to take on C-suite responsibilities without being recognized as such. The evolving role is driven by heightened regulatory scrutiny and demands for accountability. There’s a lack of board guidance for CISOs, who are often not integrated into the senior leadership team. Many CISOs seek job changes due to these challenges.
Based on the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
1. CISOs are increasingly being expected to take on C-suite responsibilities, but are often not treated or regarded as such within their organizations.
2. The expectations for the CISO role have changed, with increased scrutiny from regulators and growing demands for accountability for security breaches.
3. There is a growing expectation for the CISO to serve primarily as a business risk-management function and have a clear voice at executive leadership meetings, as well as direct communication with the CEO and C-suite.
4. Despite the elevated expectations, CISOs often struggle to be viewed as part of the senior leadership team and frequently do not have a direct line of communication with the CEO and C-suite.
5. There is a lack of clear risk guidance from the board for CISO responsibility, with only a minority describing their board as offering clear insight into their organization’s risk tolerance levels.
6. Concerns have been growing within the CISO community about the escalating expectations around the role and the historical bias against security as a C-level function.
7. Elevating the CISO role to the C-suite can have many benefits, including better awareness and visibility into organizational direction and improved collaboration on digital risk-management.
These takeaways reflect the evolving and challenging landscape for CISOs, as well as the need for organizations to better recognize and support the CISO role within the C-suite.