Gartner Survey Report on CISO Thought Process

As per the new research report from Gartner, more than two-thirds of top-performing chief information security officers (CISOs) dedicate recurring time for professional development. The 69% figure compares with just 36% of the bottom-performing CISOs who do so.

The survey of 227 CISOs was collected from 2020 through 2023 as part of a benchmark survey, with those scoring in the top one-third ranked as “top performers.” Gartner’s research identified five behaviors that significantly differentiated top-performing CISOs from bottom performing ones. According to Gartner, these qualities were at least 1.5 times as prevalent in top performers.

For instance, more than three-quarters of top-performing CISOs initiated conversations on evolving norms to stay ahead of threats, compared with just half of the bottom-performing CISOs.

No organization can be fully protected against every cyber-threat. The most effective CISOs stay apprised of existing and emerging risks so they can provide leadership with context around the most significant threats facing the business to influence investments and risk decisions accordingly

Nearly two-thirds of the top performers (63%) proactively engage in securing emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and blockchain, compared with 38% of the bottom performers

Top-performing CISOs also proactively engage with senior decision-makers by building relationships outside the context of projects (65%) and by collaborating to define enterprise risk appetite (67%). The most effective CISOs regularly meet three times as many non-IT stakeholders, such as the heads of sales, marketing, or business unit leaders, according to Gartner.

Developing new skills and knowledge as the role changes is essential to effectively serve as a strategic advisor to the business — the new CISO paradigm.