Bibi van den Berg on the CISO in 2018
An unclear role, competition with IT and a wide range of subjects. Despite the widespread media attention for IT-security & privacy, the tasks of the Chief Information & Security Officer (CISO) remain indistinct. Bibi van den Berg, professor of Cybersecurity Governance, took part in the panel discussion at the Heliview Congress IT & Information Security on February 6, about a.o. the CISO in 2018.
CISO is not only a vague notion in practice, but Van den Berg states the educational world has the same idea. “The field is expanding rapidly and the challenges are becoming bigger and bigger. People are having trouble to stay connected within these hectic dynamics. In my opinion the CISO of the future should be building bridges between the various experts.” The problems presented by the panel members were confirmed by the audience. “The CISO-position cannot be combined in one person”
CISO in its infancy
The professionalism of the CISO in general is still in its infancy. According to Rence Damming, a CISO should have various competences that complement each other, like a “sheep with at least 7 legs”. Van den Berg thinks there are not enough specialists to look for or to create that sheep. “Within education as well. As in other countries more investments are made in cybersecurity and information security, many good people – who might be playing a role in our education system – go abroad.”
Read the article (Dutch only)