Almost a Quarter of All CISO's Looking to Exit
- Advisor@AegisIntel.ai
- Nov 5, 2024
- 2 min read
As noted previously, the corporate environment and inexorable pressure from bad actors is resulting with large scale professional dissatisfaction within Chief Information Officer ranks
A recent report by BlackFog Research found that 24% of Chief Information Security Officers (CISO's) in the US and the UK are actively looking to leave their jobs due to increasing stress and limited career advancement opportunities.
In addition to the 24% actively seeking new roles, another 50% of CISO's claim they are open to new offers, indicating that the majority of security leaders would consider taking on a new role if given the chance.
Interestingly, the average tenure of enterprise CISO's is relatively brief, typically ranging from 18 months to 24 months, with many CISO's considering their next moves as their two-year anniversary approaches.
The report attributes the desire to leave to a combination of emerging threats, funding difficulties, and personal liability, which are increasingly convincing security leaders to seek new positions.
Moving Up or Out
Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group, believes that the nature of the CISO role offers few incentives for long-term commitment, as the only path for advancement often involves moving to a different company that can offer a higher salary.
Enderle notes that CISO's who are "climbers" often set their sights on finding another, better role after securing their first CISO position, as opportunities for upward mobility within the same company are limited.
The lack of upward mobility is not unique to CISO's, as many C-level executives face similar challenges, with the CEO position often being the ultimate goal, but also highly competitive.
Enderle suggests that the absence of pensions, which used to serve as an anchor to the firm, has made it more difficult to retain top executives, as stock option vesting has not proven to be as effective in retaining talent.
CISO's who are looking to leave often have specific goals in mind, such as securing a more senior role in a similarly sized company or a similar role in a more prominent Fortune-ranked company.
However, increasing burnout, frustration, and personal liability are leading to rising CISO job dissatisfaction, pushing many CISO's to consider alternative roles, such as virtual CISO (vCISO) positions, which may offer less stress.
The current environment does not bode well for CISO long term career viability nor for Corporate IT as the frequency of executive turnover forces consistent loss of talent and focus for the enterprise.
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