Five Key Characteristics of a Successful CISO
Organizations need multifaceted strategies to identify, address, and combat cyberattacks. An organization’s cybersecurity strategy is founded on a strong information security infrastructure, an experienced and skilled workforce, and a well-drafted assessment methodology, among other tools and policies.
To bring all of these pieces together and effectively implement a cybersecurity strategy, businesses need chief information security officers (CISOs) with strong leadership skills. CISOs are intellectually curious individuals who have a strong understanding of their organization’s processes and operations.
Data from Ponemon Institute (2017)
Data from Ponemon Institute (2017)
From their first day on the job, CISOs engage with all of an organization’s security layers and functions. The typical responsibilities of a CISO include synchronizing and collating information security policies across the organization, gathering data, listening to the input of various departments, and conducting training and awareness raising at all levels. Since organizational information security is a group effort, CISOs should be assigned a dedicated and skilled team to ensure they can accomplish their objectives. Research by the Ponemon Institute (2017) reaffirms the crucial role of a CISO, especially when dealing with Internet of Things (IoT) devices, managing enterprise risk, and deploying security analytics.
To effectively fulfill their responsibilities, CISOs need to have technical expertise, leadership skills, and the ability to articulate security concerns from a business perspective. In this article, we’ll explain the top traits that a CISO should have in order to successfully implement a robust security strategy at all levels of their organization.
To effectively fulfill their responsibilities, CISOs need to have technical expertise, leadership skills, and the ability to articulate security concerns from a business perspective. In this article, we’ll explain the top traits that a CISO should have in order to successfully implement a robust security strategy at all levels of their organization.
1. Ability to Align Plans with Core Objectives
CISOs are incredible planners. They’re responsible for carefully drafting strategic plans—both short and long term—to ensure that the company meets its security objectives. They set priorities, develop strategies, and create operational plans to build an effective security program that’s in line with business goals. CISOs should know how to effectively plan security strategies and policies based on their organization’s management approach, risk assessment findings, project requirements, and other relevant factors.
All strategic planning should be done in accordance with business objectives, government laws, relevant regulations and policies, and board committees of stakeholders and senior IT managers. CISOs need to be able to assess security risks at every stage of a business process and make and execute security plans that ultimately synchronize with their enterprise’s business objectives.
2. Strong Leadership Skills
CISOs oversee their organization’s information security program and act as project leaders in planning, developing, coordinating, implementing, and administering its security operations. Along with information security, CISOs are often responsible for coordinating other subsidiary programs, such as physical security, risk management, purchasing and liaising, legal compliance, human resources, internal audits, and other activities at the intersection of IT and business.
CISOs often represent their company to the outside world, serving as spokespeople for information security when addressing auditors, vendors, and stakeholders. As a result, a successful CISO needs to have strong and authoritative communication skills that enable them to both interact with outsiders and develop credibility and trust with internal employees at all levels of the organization.
3. Ability to Coordinate and Delegate Across Departments
The most crucial role of a CISO is to delegate security tasks among cybersecurity staff as well as employees in other areas. In doing so, the CISO needs to ensure that each employee to whom they assign a given security task is empowered to make the associated risk management decisions when necessary.
CISOs also need to coordinate effectively—both within their own team and across departments—to ensure that all security standards are met. The roles and responsibilities of employees and the department heads who are part of the core security team must be delineated clearly and documented to avoid confusion. This minimizes duplication of work and coverage gaps in delegation.
4. Desire for Continuous Learning
The drive for self-development is another key characteristic of a successful CISO. A CISO should have a well-rounded foundation of security knowledge and a passion for learning more. Because a CISO’s actions need to simultaneously align with business objectives and support their organization’s security infrastructure, CISOs need to have strong analytical and problem-solving skills that enable them to understand and recommend comprehensive solutions to practical problems.
In the course of their work, CISOs are bound to encounter a broad spectrum of information security issues, meaning that they should be prepared—and excited—to engage in on-the-job, continuous learning. Their training and professional development should address ongoing needs for security enhancements, compliance with the latest standards and regulations, and how to incorporate and handle security issues related to emerging technologies.
5. Ability to Create Effective Benchmarks
CISOs must be able to craft and understand metrics that enable them to understand their organization’s security performance and where it can be improved. They should also conduct periodic reviews with industry peers to improve their benchmarks. Security leaders should also gather operational data that can aid them in security strategizing.
Knowing how to develop, apply, and understand benchmarks and performance metrics is necessary for any cybersecurity executive—a poorly chosen or misinterpreted metric can result in the failure of an entire security program. CISOs have the unique skill of understanding how to evaluate the effectiveness of their organization’s program by creating and tracking the right metrics.
How Can You Become a CISO?
Successful CISOs know how to find an equilibrium between technical and managerial concerns. They’re inspired and have a passion that is contagious. They know when to listen, when to address, when to collaborate, and when to be visionary. While the specific responsibilities of a CISO are constantly evolving in response to changing demands in cybersecurity, these C-level executives consistently play a significant role in the security of their organizations and form an integral part of the business management team.
Are you interested in becoming a CISO? As members of the C-suite, CISOs hold one of the highest-ranking roles in the cybersecurity hierarchy. The first step towards attaining one of these senior positions is to improve and validate your cybersecurity and management skills by obtaining a master’s degree in cybersecurity or specialized certification.
EC-Council University (ECCU) offers a complete online Master of Science in Cybersecurity with five specializations, including an Executive Leadership in Information Assurance track. This concentration focuses on the fundamental skills needed to become a leader in a C-level information security position.
In addition to receiving a master’s degree in cybersecurity, the curriculum of the Executive Leadership in Information Assurance specialization will prepare you to obtain three of EC-Council’s flagship certifications: Certified Chief Information Security Officer (C|CISO), Certified Network Defender (C|ND), and Certified Ethical Hacker (C|EH). To learn more, visit https://www.eccu.edu/specialization-executive-leadership-in-information-assurance/
References
Ponemon Institute. (2017). The evolving role of CISOs and their importance to the business.
https://interact.f5.com/rs/653-SMC-783/images/RPRT-SEC-1167223548-global-ciso-benchmarkUPDATED.pdf
