More IT Security Pros Filling Executive Roles

A new survey has found that almost three-quarters of IT security professionals say they are exercising more influence over top executives than ever before. Are security pros getting a chance to flaunt their business sense along with their technical skills?

According to an article by K.C. Jones on the Security Pipeline website, the Global Information Security Workforce Study found that 70 percent of IT security professionals surveyed said they believe they exercised more influence on executives in 2005 than in 2004, and 73 percent said they expect their influence to continue growing. The International Systems Security Certification Consortium, or (ISC)2, sponsored the survey.

“This year, professionals worldwide indicated that information security is now being perceived as a business enabler rather than a business expense, and as a result, they are increasingly being included in strategic discussions with the most senior levels of management,” Rolf Moulton, president and CEO of ISC, told Jones.

Jones says that dialogue between corporate executives and IT professionals has “evolved from technical security discussions to risk management strategies,” which means security pros are being invited into discussions early in the process.

“There's more attention and focus on IT security as a profession, as opposed to just a job,” Howard Schmidt, vice president and chief information security officer for eBay Inc. and former presidential cybersecurity advisor, told Jones. It represents an opportunity for professionals to move up the corporate ladder, he added.