Gartner Research

The Evolution of the CISO Role — What’s Next?

Published: 15 April 2022

Summary

CISOs have started to transition from technical experts to business executives. As C-suite executives and BoDs continue to engage as sponsors of the cybersecurity program, cybersecurity leaders (namely CISOs) must rapidly evolve and reframe their role from tactical leader to business storyteller.

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Overview

Key Findings
  • Compared to more established C-suite roles (such as CIO and CFO), CISOs are only recently perceived as C-suite executives in some organizations, while others continue to focus on their tactical security strategy.

  • Business units continue to make siloed decisions that lead to delivery that cannot be managed by the security programs.

  • Traditional implementation of controls has its limitations since they do not scale to match the velocity at which business is evolving.

  • There has not been a change in the definition of success of the role of the CISO in relation to the challenges they face.

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Analysts:

Deepti Gopal Sam Olyaei

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