How to Talk Security to the CIO

We’ve been doing some research on how to talk security to the CIO. Been fascinating. Talked to two CIOs just this week and many more last week. I’m amazed at how much security is on their radar and how much they know about it. We’ve been warned to “keep it simple, CIOs aren’t experts”… we’ve found the opposite. Nothing superficial about it, they are living this. Key themes:

Security has spiked as a Board room concern (read: “I now get called in often!”)
They still feel they don’t know what they don’t know (e.g., is there malware we just haven’t found?)
Very risk management oriented in their approach to problems solving
Tired of needing 30 vendors to solve the problem — looking for a strategic partner!
(side note, for those interested in reporting lines: almost all the companies we interviewed, the CIO managed the CISO, with few exceptions)

Certainly themes we’ll be playing on as we move forward with our strategy. One of the CIOs ended by making clear how personally critical security is, she said: “It really is one of the few things that can be a job breaker.” Clear enough.

Marc van Zadelhoff

General Manager, IBM Security

Why security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) is fundamental to a security platform

3 min read - Security teams today are facing increased challenges due to the remote and hybrid workforce expansion in the wake of COVID-19. Teams that were already struggling with too many tools and too much data are finding it even more difficult to collaborate and communicate as employees have moved to a virtual security operations center (SOC) model while addressing an increasing number of threats. Disconnected teams accelerate the need for an open and connected platform approach to security . Adopting this type of…

The evolution of a CISO: How the role has changed

3 min read - In many organizations, the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) focuses mainly — and sometimes exclusively — on cybersecurity. However, with today’s sophisticated threats and evolving threat landscape, businesses are shifting many roles’ responsibilities, and expanding the CISO’s role is at the forefront of those changes. According to Gartner, regulatory pressure and attack surface expansion will result in 45% of CISOs’ remits expanding beyond cybersecurity by 2027.With the scope of a CISO’s responsibilities changing so quickly, how will the role adapt…

X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2024 reveals stolen credentials as top risk, with AI attacks on the horizon

4 min read - Every year, IBM X-Force analysts assess the data collected across all our security disciplines to create the IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index, our annual report that plots changes in the cyber threat landscape to reveal trends and help clients proactively put security measures in place. Among the many noteworthy findings in the 2024 edition of the X-Force report, three major trends stand out that we’re advising security professionals and CISOs to observe: A sharp increase in abuse of valid accounts…

Security Intelligence

{{title}}

{{title}}

{{title}}

Topics

More from CISO

Why security orchestration, automation and response (SOAR) is fundamental to a security platform

The evolution of a CISO: How the role has changed

X-Force Threat Intelligence Index 2024 reveals stolen credentials as top risk, with AI attacks on the horizon

Topic updates