Chief security officer

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A Chief Security Officer (CSO) is a corporation's top executive who is responsible for security of personnel, physical assets and information in both physical and digital form. The importance of this position has increased in the age of information technology as it has become easier to steal sensitive company information (Investopedia).

The CSO generally serves as the business leader responsible for the development, implementation and management of the organization’s corporate security vision, strategy and programs. They direct staff in identifying, developing, implementing and maintaining security processes across the organization to reduce risks, respond to incidents, and limit exposure to liability in all areas of financial, physical, and personal risk; establish appropriate standards and risk controls associated with intellectual property; and direct the establishment and implementation of policies and procedures related to data security.

Digital security is involved in physical security. At many companies the CSO also has responsibility for IT security; the term "Chief Information Security Officer" (CISO) is frequently used as an alternative.

As the era of technology progresses, the importance of maintaining corporate security will only increase. Technology has made companies' enterprise architecture and intellectual properties vulnerable to cyber attacks. For instance, nearly forty percent of all corporate email traffic is SPAM, and corporations which do not take proper measures to protect their networks and email systems will be faced with down time and malicious codes and viruses that threaten enterprise and organizational integrity (Coker 2010). There are essentially three methods to dealing with unsolicited email: Self-Managed (developing and maintaining a home grown SPAM and anti-virus solution), Premise-Based (installing hardware and software on sight to fight off e-mail threats)or Fully Managed (perimeter based SPAM and virus protection that puts a trusted third-party's network 'at risk' as opposed to your own) (Coker 2010). It is the responsibility of a CSO to determine the proper solution to protect a company's assets and intellectual properties.

See also

  • Chief Information Security Officer

Notes

    References

    • "Chief Security Officer - CSO". investopedia.com. 
    • Coker, Boye' A. "The Importance of Corporate Security in Ensuring Enterprise Integrity". examiner.com. 

    External links

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.