Here's How the CISO Role is Changing | ThreatAdvice
The C-Suite’s focus on cybersecurity has reached its peak. Organizations are realizing the impact that one serious incident or data breach can have on business growth and profitability. The damage from a breach can be harmful for the company brand, cause customer and employee loss, and cost a substantial amount of money to restore what was lost. As a result, the value of having a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has increased tremendously. Cybersecurity has moved beyond the walls of the IT department and made its way to the C-Suite. Companies now must take the values and goals they set as a company and apply integrity to enterprise-wide cybersecurity strategy. More than an IT security specialist, A CISO’s primary role is developing cybersecurity strategy that protects and enhances the business model of the company. The CISO role is changing, and companies must embrace and support these changes to protect their enterprise.
The Integration of Physical Security and Cybersecurity
The Chief Security Officer (CSO) and CISO have different avenues that lead to the same goal: quality company-wide security. They should work hand in hand with one another and not separately. They share a primary focus of defending against criminals that want to do harm to the organization. However, many organizations put much more focus on one over the other. Sometimes a company will neglect the CISO simply because they don’t have a firm understanding of quality cybersecurity. Other times, a company will put all their security resources towards cybersecurity and neglect physical security. Both forms of neglect can lead to an incident. Instead, organizations should provide a seat for the CSO and CISO on their company’s Board. CSOs and CISOs should strategize together on overall security structure for the company and advocate for one another.
Setting the Security and Privacy Standard
One way CISOs continue to develop and add value to their organization is through compliance management. GDPR is the world standard when it comes to data privacy. These privacy regulations provide a great opportunity for CISOs to create and implement strategies that will allow their organization to be GDPR compliant. This is both resourceful for the present and future. While the GDPR has improved the progress of privacy, security continues to be an issue. A national legislation on cybersecurity could jolt security efforts forward in a similar way as the GDPR has done with privacy matters. It’s very likely that we see not one, but many national security regulations soon. It’s important for CISOs to be prepared for new security legislation and always maintain compliance control for the organization.
Easing the Stress
For most CISOs, managing work and life is very difficult. The balance between the two is almost nonexistent. A study conducted by Vanson Bourne and commissioned by Nominet, found that 88% of 400 surveyed CISOs are moderately or tremendously stressed. Nearly half of CISOs said their work stress has had a detrimental effect on their mental health. Unfortunately, CISOs take on a load of responsibilities and wear multiple hats because they often lack necessary support from the Board. Calculating ROI for cybersecurity efforts can be a challenge for many organizations. CISOs are often faced with budget cuts and limited resources. Easing the stress of CISOs to more effectively do their job starts with confidence and support from the Board. CISOs should be surrounded by a quality team and able to utilize a plethora of security resources. This will create more well-rounded security efforts along with relieving the stress that keeps CISOs up at night.
Hiring a Virtual CISO
Every organization needs a plan to mitigate risk and prevent malicious attacks. For some organizations, hiring a CISO is not an option. They sense the need for higher cybersecurity but lack the budget to meet the salary standard for a CISO. A more affordable options is to invest in a vCISO. NXTsoft’s ThreatAdvice vCISO solution can help create a security plan for any organization without increasing headcount or breaking the bank. A virtual CISO allows organizations to outsource cybersecurity responsibilities and unveils the benefits of strong cybersecurity oversight. It provides all this without the headache and additional expense of hiring in-house. It can manage security regulations and make sure any organization is compliant in both security and privacy matters. ThreatAdvice vCISO provides a software solution backed by an experienced team of CISOs that is worth evaluating if you are considering hiring an in-house CISO.