Security Concerns Keeping Your CISO Awake

The position of CISO (Chief Information Security Officer) has evolved significantly over the last few years. It has become a standalone position and is no longer just a title slapped on to an existing employee's responsibilities. CISO's have the responsibility, and ultimately accountability, to think proactively to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of information systems under the control of the organization.

Now add to this the added burden of budgeting or requesting funds for the latest cool security tool, assessing the risk any venture might pose to business continuity, and compliance with the latest regulations and international standards, it's not easy.

There is so much keeping a CISO up at night, and to get ahead of the rest and avoid getting swamped in all the small details, here are the top four things that might be keeping your CISO up at night.

Preventing and Handling Security Breaches

The hack last year at Equifax, and with the allegations of security breaches involving world governments, has really put the spotlight on hackers and their adverse impact on both governments and businesses.

The likelihood of security breaches, be it affecting the data of an organization, its customers or business partners, is limitless and that a CISO should spend sleepless nights over this makes a lot of sense.

With the move to cloud-based computing, company assets have become so geographically dispersed around the world that a CISO has to track all these human and technical resources, ensuring that they're all safe and secure.

There’s the likelihood of unauthorized access to organizational social media accounts, the spread of malware and viruses, and an increase in hackable sensitive data like account information and passwords through mobile devices accessing one's system.

It's impossible to identify all the potential risks; the possibilities are endless. Although; performing regular risk assessments, and subsequently mitigating those that don't meet your organization’s risk tolerance threshold, will help them get a few extra hours of Z's.

Staying Ahead of Evolving Threats

While the risks seem endless, there are a few proven strategies that organizations can use to strengthen their cybersecurity posture and stay one step ahead of would-be attackers:

• Continuous monitoring and threat intelligence: Staying informed about the latest threat trends and attacker tactics is crucial. By integrating threat intelligence feeds into security operations, organizations can anticipate and respond to emerging threats.

• Regular security assessments and penetration testing: Routine vulnerability scans and penetration tests uncover weaknesses before attackers do. A recent Cybersecurity Insiders report revealed that 83% of organizations discovered at least one vulnerability—proof that regular checks are essential.

• Investing in advanced security tools: Leveraging new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning enables faster, more accurate threat detection and response. The Capgemini Research Institute notes that nearly 7 in 10 organizations believe AI will soon be vital for combating cyberattacks.

No single approach is a silver bullet, but layering these tactics—monitoring, assessment, and technological investment—gives CISOs a fighting chance to keep the night terrors at bay.

Handling the Growing Cost of Information Security

CISOs must understand the budget required for the growing cost of information security. Apart from funding issues, this also requires streamlining and mobilizing the entire organization to become more security aware.

It's not feasible to protect all of the organization's assets, this would be impracticably costly. A good CISO will identify the cost of the risk materializing, and the cost of various methods to mitigate the risk. They might have multiple completely different ways of mitigating the risk too, think insurance vs physical controls.

A very rudimentary calculation might be (cost of the risk materializing) * (likelihood of risk materializing) and compare it against the (cost of mitigating risk). If the number makes sense they should probably mitigate that risk. Calculating the cost of a risk materializing is tough, and erring on the side of caution is probably best.

A CISO has to be vigilant in the management of organization risks, but they also have to have the capability to communicate the importance of security to boards and managers to receive the investment needed for security. They must understand how to derive costs and compare these with the return on investment that they bring.

Securing an Organization's Business Continuity

Preventing security breaches and handling them capably when, not if, they occur is what you might think is the primary function of the CISO. Sure, while this might take up a good part of their time, it is actually only a part of the CISO's job description.

So, they have adopted new strategies, maybe the deployment of some new products or even implemented a whole bunch of new processes, they still can't sleep! "What if my system goes down?" they'll say.

Incident Response and Recovery: Laying the Groundwork

Now is the perfect time to document your organization's Business Continuity Plan (BCP), a document that forecasts business disruptions and the strategies needed to bounce back from risks that materialize.

The BCP can go side by side with disaster recovery functions that typically focus on recovering hardware and software and getting backups restored and should prove to be helpful in understanding the risks facing any organization.

However, the foundation for bouncing back quickly often rests on a well-defined incident response plan. This means outlining clear, step-by-step procedures for what to do in the event of a security breach:

• Develop and Test Your Incident Response Plan: Map out roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols for containing and mitigating incidents. Regularly test and update this plan, drawing on best-practice frameworks such as NIST, SANS, or ISO, because a dusty plan is as good as no plan at all.

• Communication is Everything: When the alarm bells ring, knowing who needs to be notified and how is crucial. Your plan should include strategies for updating not just your team, but employees, customers, partners, and when necessary the media or law enforcement. Clear, timely communication can make all the difference between a controlled incident and a PR disaster.

• Learn from Every Incident: After the dust settles, conduct a thorough post-incident analysis. Identify the root cause, evaluate the effectiveness of your response, and most importantly, capture lessons learned. Feed these insights back into your incident response and continuity planning to build immunity for the next round.

The input of the BCP is primarily based on a business impact analysis that might be created for every revenue generating stream. This organizes data on the maximum acceptable lost revenue, ultimately providing valuable insights for a continuity-informed security program.

Ensuring Compliance with the Latest Regulations and Requirements

Ensuring compliance with the latest regulations and requirements may be considered the foundation of the work that provides the key to addressing the whole spectrum of their responsibilities.

Regulatory compliance is one step towards investing in information security, preventing and handling security breaches, and securing the organization's business continuity when faced with unexpected disruptions.

Securing data and information systems, for instance, is at the core of the European's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or ISO 27001 which institutes the standards for an Information Security Management System (ISMS). Service Organization Control (SOC) 2 or Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP), which all help in cover the growing costs of information security and necessities of business continuity.

In today’s rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, CISOs must navigate a maze of frameworks and compliance standards that extend far beyond just GDPR and

• HIPAA: For those in the healthcare sector within the United States, HIPAA governs how sensitive patient health information is handled, requiring strict safeguards to maintain privacy and security.

• PCI-DSS: If your organization processes credit card transactions, PCI-DSS is non-negotiable. This set of standards, backed by major credit card brands, is essential for safeguarding payment data and reducing fraud risk.

• DORA: Financial institutions in the EU should keep an eye on DORA—the Digital Operational Resilience Act—which aims to harmonize and strengthen digital resilience requirements, particularly around ICT risk, incident reporting, and third-party vendors.

• NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Widely adopted across various sectors in the U.S., the NIST framework provides structured guidance for assessing and improving cybersecurity posture.

Understanding these regulations and complying with these standards can help your CISO sleep, but more importantly help your organization by also ensuring that systems, controls, and adequate security measures are put in place to prevent and handle breaches well.

Building a Culture of Compliance: Strategies for Success

Staying compliant isn’t a “set it and forget it” affair. It demands ongoing attention and a multi-pronged approach:

• Regular audits and assessments
  Conducting routine audits helps pinpoint areas where compliance may be slipping or where regulations have changed. These assessments are invaluable for keeping policies, controls, and practices current with evolving standards.

• Documenting policies and procedures
  Maintaining clear, accessible documentation ensures everyone knows what’s expected and provides a reference point when uncertainty arises. Thorough documentation also signals to regulators, partners, and auditors that your organization takes compliance seriously.

• Training employees on compliance requirements
  Even the best-laid plans crumble if your people aren’t on board. Regular training empowers employees to recognize compliance obligations in their day-to-day roles and reinforces a culture where everyone feels responsible for protecting the organization.

By weaving these practices into the fabric of your organization, compliance becomes less about box-ticking and more about building resilience.