Who the CISO reports to matters more than you might think, but it isn’t the only secret to success. Credit: kalhh A new report from IANS Research shines a light on the current state of CISOs and their role in building in influence in leadership across an organization.The survey of more than 1200 CISOs and information security teams, taking place over more than two years, found that one of the defining challenges of the CISO role is “leading from a position of little authority or influence,” says Stan Dolberg, chief research officer, IANS Research. It’s not surprising, then, that security reporting structures are strongly tied to infosec success. Sixty percent of high-performing security leaders report into risk and business roles, while 95 percent of lower-performing CISOs report into the CIO or other technology roles, the survey found.But there are also some specific practices of high-performers that enhance their leadership and their security programs. One such practice is having a formal plan for “engaging” across their organizations. Seventy-five percent of high-performers (5 percent of low-performers) say their “team has quarterly ‘engagement’ goals that involve face-to-face meetings with all lines of business and IT teams, and the CISO has a goal to ‘engage up’ in the organization.” To learn more about CISO Impact, see the Overview Brief infographic below from IANS Research. Related content news analysis LogoFAIL attack can inject malware in the firmware of many computers Researchers have shown how attackers can deliver malicious code into the UEFI of many PCs though BIOS splash screen graphics. By Lucian Constantin Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Malware Malware Cybercrime news Google expands minimum security guidelines for third-party vendors Google's updated Minimum Viable Secure Product (MVSP) program offers advice for working with researchers and warns against vendors charging extra for basic security features. By John P. Mello Jr. Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Application Security Supply Chain news New CISO appointments 2023 Keep up with news of CSO, CISO, and other senior security executive appointments. By CSO Staff Dec 08, 2023 28 mins CSO and CISO Careers Security news Top cybersecurity product news of the week New product and service announcements from Coro, Descope, Genetec, Varonis, Cloudbrink, Databarracks, and Security Journey By CSO staff Dec 07, 2023 22 mins Generative AI Security Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe