F-Secure’s The CISOs’ New Dawn study is based on in-depth interviews with 28 CISOs from the US, UK and other European countries. This wide-ranging study highlights the increasing importance for CISOs of emotional intelligence (and other skills) required to work with different stakeholders within their organisations. However, it’s also creating opportunities for CISOs to become risk management leaders of their organisations, the study suggests.

F-Secure’s The CISOs’ New Dawn’s headline findings in regard to cyber risk include:

1. Surveyed CISOs consistently highlight key change points as: ‘risk’ becoming the foremost responsibility, and the balance between technical capability and the ability/application to apply ‘soft’ skills in the role.

2. 61% of the CISOs interviewed in the study believe they need to up their business skills. They also felt they must now continually engage with others across the business, to update them on new developments and identified risks.

3. The role of the CISO as ‘risk mitigator’ has meant that many have taken it on themselves to understand what dependencies the business has on a range of technologies.

4. As enterprise cyber security becomes more recognised as a practice that enables the wider business, CISOs (in the study) understand that they need to demonstrate value to risk management as part of the greater accountability and responsibility that comes with it.