Tahawul Tech – The Rise of the CISO

The CISO role continues to evolve and is now more varied and critical than ever before. Beyond managing firewalls, the role entails both technical and business skills. In light of this evolution, CISOs are hard to hire because there are far too few business executives with the right mix of business expertise and technical chops. Companies should hire CISOs who strike the right balance of business leader and risk assessor, says Chris Patrick, head of the global CIO practice at Egon Zehnder. “You want someone who can architect a comprehensive security architecture and explain it clearly to the board when called to do so. And you want someone who can coordinate communications among the C-suite, general counsel, media relations and other necessary parties to respond to a cyber incident,” says Patrick. Egon Zehnder's Kal Bittianda adds a CISO must understand issues and know what data is important to protect but they needn’t be the most tech-savvy leader on staff – that is familiar with all of the latest detection analytics and other emerging technologies. Bittianda says it is better to hire a strong executive who has the ability to influence key strategic leaders in the business, and surround him or her with technical whizzes who know what tools to apply and how.

Full Story: The Rise of the CISO in Tahawul Tech (May 22, 2017).