In the middle of March, Henderson Scott’s Information Security team held a networking event in our London office. The guestlist was exclusively for CISOs, with a simple agenda: “Discuss the biggest challenges you face regarding Information Security”.
In the 6 weeks prior to the event we asked over fifty CISOs “What keeps you awake at night?”, with some interesting responses! After collating the results, we selected eight of the most pressing challenges and prepared for an evening of knowledge-sharing and (hopefully) some fresh ideas. Our panel of experts led a spirited debate on some truly interesting topics:
1. Managing the expectations of non-security board members
2. How to negotiate the forced disclosure of Cyber Attacks and media coverage
3. Promoting Gender Diversity in Cyber Security
4. Aligning Security with Business objectives
5. Generated Data: Information Overload!
6. GDPR and the boundary of legitimate interest
7. Reducing the Risk of Insider Threats
8. How fair and representative is external threat scoring on new Vendors?
As we reflected on some excellent thoughts from the panel and the audience, it was humbling to see such a passionate and highly-experienced group of individuals sharing honest views on an open platform. It was a most enjoyable session with a great cross-section of industry sectors and business functions.
No matter which industry or vertical, CISOs are facing some common challenges in the coming year. GDPR fuels some of them, so does the ongoing shift to the Cloud, not to mention a disappointingly unbalanced workforce, a crowded and confusing technology landscape and the ever-evolving sophistication of Cyber Threats. The role of a CISO is equally as crucial as any other across the C-Suite; security is a business issue, not just for the “IT Department”, and Boards must prioritise accordingly.
We are in a fortunate position at Henderson Scott to have a such broad network across our market. Our primary objective is to connect people who otherwise may never have had the opportunity to interact, and we are proud to do so.