What Is The CISOs Role In Risk Management

CISO stands for Chief Information Security Officer. It plays a crucial role in any company. One of the best ways to protect your company's data is by checking the information technology security controls as well as determining the kind of threats sellers pose to your business environment. Today, CISO has put more emphasis on risk management than in the past.

Understanding the role of CISO in risk management

The role of CISO in a company

CISO is an advanced program that aims at helping senior officials in an organization to protect information technology and assets from thieves and hackers. Cyber-attacks have continued to increase over time and this is the reason CISO is working extremely hard to ensure the integrity, confidentiality and availability of data.

Typically, the role of CISO offers the basis to provide security controls such as data encryption and firewalls. Nevertheless, as sellers continue to come up with better solutions, the main role of CISO is to make sure business always succeeds.

The importance of CISO in risk management

CISO does not manage security functions any longer. Every day, regulations and standards continue to be updated to tackle new digital threats, they also adjust for CISO requirements. For instance, a couple of basic standards and regulations need to use CISO to achieve risk management.

ISO 27001

This one needs ISMS

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

This act needs security measures to be part of the administrative rule to minimize vulnerabilities and risks to data.

Although HIPAA and ISO need risk management to safeguard information security, they do not need a CISO to manage and monitor it, but some standards use CISO in their system

NIST 800-53

This guideline defines the role and obligations for CISO such as the security management inside NIST for a successful CDM program.

To be precise, as you establish a security program the administrator must focus on risk management. More often, CISO has to be managed by only one person who checks cybersecurity risks.

Main CISO risk management functions 

Your CISO should be in a position to check out the following risk inherent:

1. Critical systems and data

When it comes to digital data, it is important to determine what networks, assets, and systems that play a major role in business operations

2. External threat management

Increased threats from hackers need maintaining crucial security measures that regulate and monitor software and systems.

3. Internal threat management

Multifactor authentications and role-based authorizations create internal controls over network and system access.

4. Vendor risk management

The use of vendors for collecting, transferring and storing data needs managing and monitoring their security controls to protect data.

5. Continuous monitoring

Automatic monitoring of bother external and internal controls that allow better vulnerabilities and identification system.

6. Incidence response and business continuity

Increased attacks and numbers need CISOs to create and implement the right strategies to control the effects of its impacts.

Companies need to add security risk management as part of the strategy, vision, as well as program to make sure information technology and assets crucial business operations remain on the internet and can be purchased back.

Who CISO should report to

Traditionally, CISO is supposed to report to the Chief Information Officer. However, the reporting has been shifted to Chief Executive Officer. In addition, the CISO needs to be part of the C-suite to ascertain its importance with a company.

Furthermore, since CIOs but and manage IT assets, there may be a conflict of interest between replacement and security costs. It is important to establish the difference in terms of duties between security and purchasing deployment to enable risk management within your company. Therefore, the IT security functions and CISO need to partner with the IT department and CIO while at the same time not being responsible.

The best time to report to the Board of Directors

Often, standards and regulations include corporate governance as part of the Board's obligations. Together with standards and regulations, Information Systems Audit, Institute of Internal Auditors, and Control Association, Internet Security Alliance, National Association of Corporate Directors all put a major focus the importance of cybersecurity corporate governance.

Aligning the IT security function with the Board of Directors allows every stakeholder in the right risk management strategies. Your CISO must communicate both the vendor, external, governance, and vendor risks which allow them to engage in the right corporate governance. Now, if the Board of Directors can’t provide the much-needed oversight, then they are not doing their job well, and in some circumstances, SOX may end up incurring some serious charges and even jail time.

Whether you want to enhance your compliance or just starting the risk management process, this simple content shares some crucial guidelines to assess risk and align various objectives to manage corporate risks. 

Author Bio

Ken Lynch is an enterprise software startup veteran, who has always been fascinated about what drives workers to work and how to make work more engaging. Ken founded Reciprocity to pursue just that. He has propelled Reciprocity's success with this mission-based goal of engaging employees with the governance, risk, and compliance goals of their company in order to create more socially minded corporate citizens. Ken earned his BS in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from MIT.  Learn more at ReciprocityLabs.com.