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Risk

4 MIN READ

Commentary



BOARDS DON'T WANT SECURITY PROMISES — THEY WANT ACTION

CISOs must demonstrate that security processes and updates reduce risk in
measurable ways. Put emphasis on action, get the basics right, and improve
processes.
Matt Middleton-Leal
Managing Director for EMEA North, Qualys
August 16, 2023
Source: Stephen Barnes/Business via Alamy Stock Photo
PDF


Cybersecurity has never been more visible in businesses. The sheer number of
stories around hacks affecting companies has pushed this up the agenda, while
the Securities and Exchange Commission requirements on cybersecurity reporting
will force others to improve their position, too. The impact here means that
management boards are now more likely than ever to include the CISO or
equivalent.



According to Heidrick and Struggles' 2022 Chief Information Security Officer
Survey, CISOs already have the ear of the board — 88% present monthly on their
activities to the full board or to a cybersecurity board committee.

So, as cybersecurity professionals, we should have reached that promised land
where our influence is felt and we can achieve the goals that we want to
achieve, right? Wrong. Like a dog that chased a car, we have now caught it and
must work out exactly what we are going to achieve with the resulting
responsibility. The truth is, the hard work is only beginning.


ACTION, NOT WORDS

It's not enough to provide insight around security that the board can
understand, even though this is a skill in its own right. The biggest challenge
that CISOs face is how to demonstrate that our security processes and updates
will reduce risk in measurable and achievable ways. For those of us who have
fought to get a seat at the table, this immediate response might seem like a
poor return on all that investment.



Boards are concerned with risk and liabilities, so your approach should
concentrate on risk, likelihood, and mitigations. This emphasis on action can be
a tremendous spur to making changes in your approach. This also can be an
opportunity to look at how to get more of the basics right across your
operation. Tracking areas such as asset management and patching might not be
relevant for board reporting, but improving these processes using automation and
AI can lead to significant improvements.



For instance, getting more board support can provide the opportunity to take
that "blank sheet of paper" approach to security planning and process, using the
board's authority to force updates or new ways of working. However, for most
established companies, this approach may not be possible. Most organizations
consider they will be breached when articulating their security posture. They
now need to go a step further and accept change is inevitable, and that some
traditional processes and techniques simply aren't fast enough to keep up with
the level and sophistication of current threats.


DEMONSTRATE IMPACT

The second element here is to demonstrate that your actions are having an
impact. For this, you must consider whether your changes will show immediate
results or will be felt in the long term. Equally, you will have to understand
whether these results represent one-off improvements or opportunities for
long-term gains, as this will affect how you discuss these areas with the board.
This approach comes with a warning — make sure you look at the risk. While quick
wins are good for public relations, they don't always reduce risk, so CISOs must
do both.



For those new in the role, making changes might lead to fast improvements. As an
example, improving prioritization on patches should make it easier to remediate
critical and high-security risk issues. Proving that these issues are fixed
within your agreed service-level agreement parameters is a great way to
demonstrate that you are managing issues — and therefore risk — effectively.
However, your SLA may need to change — for instance, 30 days to carry out
patching around critical issues isn't good enough. This data can also be used to
reduce cyber-insurance premium costs, as you can demonstrate a well-managed and
maintained system over time.

As part of this, you should also look at how to manage expectations around
longer-term performance. As you improve, the level of risk will continue to drop
over time — but the curve will be less steep, and gains will be more marginal.
Over time, the cost to improve performance may be much higher and the return
less visible. This is the sign of an effective, mature cybersecurity program
with strong risk management emphasis, but it will take a long time to achieve
this. Setting expectations around performance and risk early will, therefore,
help get you the breathing room that you need to continue taking action.


TAKE ACTION

Getting board-level attention is one objective that many CISOs have, as it is
part of their career journey and puts them in good stead for future roles. This
puts the emphasis on what you are doing and how your priorities are getting
carried out. According to one CISO I spoke with around board reporting, it is
similar to the famous quote by Oscar Wilde: "The only thing worse than being
talked about is not being talked about." Taking action is the best approach to
show that you are worthy of that attention.



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