Seriously? Now *This* Bullshit.
Right, so apparently it wasn’t enough to expect Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to be constantly fighting a losing battle against nation-states and script kiddies. No, now they want to hold them personally liable for breaches. Fantastic. Just what we needed.
The article basically whines about how the SEC is getting all up in everyone’s business, demanding CISOs disclose security risks properly. And if they *don’t*? Lawsuits, fines, maybe even jail time. Because clearly, a CISO can single-handedly prevent every single attack with enough duct tape and wishful thinking.
Insurance companies are getting skittish about covering CISO liability – surprise, surprise – meaning CISOs are looking at potentially massive out-of-pocket expenses if things go south. D&O insurance is becoming harder to get, and more expensive when you *can* find it. Boards are finally waking up (slowly) and asking the right questions… mostly about how much this will cost them.
The whole thing boils down to a complete lack of understanding of risk. You can throw money at security, hire all the best people, but you *still* can’t guarantee zero breaches. But hey, let’s punish the guy who was probably already working himself to death anyway. Makes perfect sense. It’s not like the root cause is usually underfunded budgets and executive indifference, right?
Expect more CISOs to start carefully wording their statements, documenting everything to the nth degree, and generally covering their asses. Innovation? Forget about it. It’ll be all about CYA from here on out.
Source: Dark Reading – Personal Liability, Security Becomes Bigger Issues for CISOs
And a Story For Ya…
I once had to explain to a VP that “secure” didn’t mean “impenetrable.” He wanted me to guarantee no one would ever hack his email. I told him I could lock the door, but if someone really *wanted* in, they’d find a way. He looked at me like I was the problem. This whole CISO liability thing? It’s just that VP mentality scaled up to an entire industry. Idiots.
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