The role of the CISO in digital transformation

Innovation, according to the RAE, is the ‘action and effect of innovating’ (that is, introducing new things). It is also defined as the ‘creation or modification of a product, and its introduction into a market.’ Innovation using disruptive digital technologies can be understood as an approximation to the current concept of digital transformation.

Currently, organizations are immersed in digital transformation processes, where they adopt disruptive technologies to achieve competitive advantages for themselves, making profound changes in the business and culture of the organization.

Digital transformation requires a redesign of the main products, strategies, and processes of organizations by leveraging digital technology, which requires a cultural change, usually led by the CEO of the organization. Digital transformation is not a project, it is a process, so it never ends and should be guided by continuous improvement.

Digital transformation involves completely rethinking an organization, as it is a process that consists of reorienting an organization towards the application and use of emerging digital technologies in the organization’s key processes.

In this context, CISO Consulting plays a vital role, especially in ensuring that security is embedded in every step of the transformation process. A Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) focuses on safeguarding data and systems as organizations integrate new technologies, ensuring that security risks are minimized while innovation is maximized. This consulting approach helps organizations align their security strategy with their digital transformation goals, addressing both operational resilience and compliance.

CYBERSECURITY IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION PROCESSES

CYBERSECURITY GOVERNANCE 

Digital transformation is affecting all entities , both public and private, and all critical processes of businesses that want to be competitive, which is why roles such as the Head of Information Systems or CIO ( Chief Information Officer ), together with those responsible for the different business areas, are essential for digital transformation processes to be a success. 

But what about the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO )? What role does he or she play in digital transformation? 

An example of digital transformation could be the implementation of smart cities , where the digitalization and sensorization of cities, together with technologies such as AI or Cloud Computing, are used as a basis for city governance, generating a higher quality of life for the citizens who live there.  

What if traffic lights were easily controlled by unauthorized persons? What if energy systems were cyberattacked, leaving a large city without power? What if the industrial control systems of the water company were manipulated or public transport paralyzed? 

A world where “almost everything is digital” requires adequate cybersecurity governance and information security management based on ICT risks. 

Therefore, any information security governance model should clearly identify the following blocks of responsibility: 

• Government: represented by the established Information Security Committee, the CEO and those responsible for the business areas (information and services managers). 
• Supervision: represented by the organisation’s CISO (responsible for security) and, if applicable, the DPO (Data Protection Officer) as data protection advisor. 
• Operation: represented by the organization’s CIO (responsible for systems). 
• Ciso in the digital transformation 2

CYBERSECURITY CHALLENGES IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Due to the complexity of digital transformation processes, we can identify the following challenges to address in terms of cybersecurity : 

• Increased attack surface: the perimeter is no longer defined and internal infrastructures are mixed with interconnected external services. The larger the exposure surface, the greater the ICT risks and the potential vulnerabilities to exploit. In addition, different technologies generate different vulnerabilities and risks. 
• More sophisticated cyber threats: cybercriminals adapt to technology by generating more sophisticated, more frequent and more impactful threats (CaaS – Crime as a Service, APTs – Advanced Persistent Threats, etc.). 
• Convergence of IT and OT: due to the development of industry 4.0 and industrial IoT, information security must be comprehensive (physical and digital security). 
• Greater interrelation and dependence on third parties: therefore, cybersecurity control in the supply chain is essential. Shared rather than delegated responsibility is desired. External incident management needs to be agreed upon, as well as balancing the levels of cybersecurity maturity between entities (contractor and contractor). 
• Alert fatigue: We have more and more alerts from different sources, with great difficulty in interpreting, measuring, correlating and discarding false positives. Prioritizing and obtaining quality information is necessary to make sound decisions. 

Cybersecurity must be a cross-cutting part of digital transformation processes and requires: 

• Cybersecurity by design : cybersecurity as a competitive advantage involved in strategic decision-making in digital transformation from the beginning. 
• Automation and cyber intelligence: Using as much automation as possible as well as AI solutions to detect attack patterns and correlate alerts and behaviors. 
• Cyber ​​incident prevention, detection and response: for proper cyber incident management and an adequate SOC, with specialized teams and 24×7 services. 
• Centralized and standardized asset repository, as well as a vulnerability database: to be able to apply automation and cyber intelligence to vulnerability management and cyber incident management. 
• Physical and digital security integration: An interaction between physical systems and cyberspace is desirable as part of IoT and OT integration. 
• Managed Security and Security as a Service: Security as a continuous improvement process within an Information Security Management System (ISMS) that supports decision-making and justifies investments in cybersecurity. 

Cybersecurity must be part of the digital transformation strategy of organizations since digital dependence is total and without cybersecurity, companies are exposed to both cyberattacks and large fines for non-compliance with regulations that can end the business (possible reputational damage, extortion due to data theft, unavailability of services, etc.). 

THE ROLE OF THE CISO IN DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

In organizations with a certain level of maturity in cybersecurity, the role of the CISO (security officer) must be completely different from the role of the CIO (systems officer). They are complementary roles but each has very different functions. 

There are legal frameworks that require such separation of functions . For example, the National Security Framework (Royal Decree 311/2022) explicitly states that “ the responsibility for the security of information systems will be differentiated from the responsibility for the operation of the information systems concerned ”. Therefore, the CISO must be separated from the operation of the systems and should act as a translator between the importance of the business processes and the digital systems that support them.  

Those responsible for business processes will convey to the CISO the importance of their processes (information and services) and the CISO will translate this criticality into security measures (technical and organizational) that the organization will have to implement so that its information systems are at security (or risk) levels that the organization can assume. 

This is why the most relevant functions of the CISO are: 

• Define and align the cybersecurity strategy with the company’s objectives. 
• Analyze and manage the organization’s ICT risks. 
• Define safety regulations. 
• Prevent, detect, analyze vulnerabilities and manage cyber incidents. 
• Train and raise awareness in the organization regarding information security. 
• Inform and report to management on security indicators and status. 

In order to add value to digital transformation processes, the CISO will have to increase and strengthen some of his or her capabilities : 

• Relationship: Must have leadership, communication, team management and business understanding skills. 
• Management: should use indicators and promote an information security management system for cybersecurity decision-making. 
• Techniques: must anticipate training in the disruptive technologies selected within the digital transformation of the organization (Cloud, AI, IoT, 5G, etc.). 

Conclusion

In summary, the role of the CISO in digital transformation (DT) must cover the following aspects: 

• Security as a strategic advantage: it must participate in decision-making processes and prepare the organization to achieve digital transformation objectives, aligning cybersecurity with business objectives. 
• Involved from the earliest stages of digital transformation, it must move from being a spectator to a proactive element in all phases of the TD process:

1. Before starting the process: with active participation in the definition. 
2. During the process: providing differential value at all levels. 
3. Once the process is implemented: through governance, risk and compliance (GRC). 

• Risk-oriented: through decision-making based on the organization’s risk appetite (formalized and accepted by management). 
• With “ hard ” skills : through continuous technological updating (Cloud security, DevSecOps, API Security Frameworks, Zero Trust, AI, RPA, etc.) 
• With “soft” skills : being a change enabler committed to management strategy. Good communicator and translator between business and digital systems, generating value and understanding at all levels of the organization. 

We must not forget that within the digital transformation processes the CISO must have a proactive role and should not be seen as an element of friction/slowing down the digital transformation of the organization.