Intelligent CISO Issue 79 | Page 41

expert

OPINION
JAVIER DOMINGUEZ , CISO AT COMMVAULT
Javier Dominguez , CISO at Commvault , considers the dynamic between the CIO and CISO and states that a more collaborative mindset between the two is required to deliver the kind of robust cybersecurity programmes needed today .

Why close collaboration at the C-Level is key to effective data protection

n an increasingly hostile data security

I landscape , effective cybersecurity relies on strong internal processes and communication , driven from the top by experienced C-level personnel . For this reason , the dynamic between members of the C-suite , particularly the CIO and CISO , now plays a pivotal role in everything from an organisation ’ s strategic cybersecurity spending to its overall incident response plan in the event of a data breach .

While CIOs tend to have a broad range of roles and IT responsibilities throughout their organisation , CISOs can often find their plates stacked even higher , spanning everything from compliance and governance to enterprise-wide risk management and beyond . Consequently , while CISOs are typically seen as the final authority on all data security issues , it ’ s a role that ’ s becoming increasingly difficult to do in isolation , without close support from the CIO .
Considering this , it ’ s not surprising that the collaboration between CIOs and CISOs has significantly evolved in recent years . As cybersecurity continues to gain traction on the corporate agenda , it ’ s become clear that old , siloed approaches simply aren ’ t viable today .
Instead , a more collaborative mindset is required to deliver the kind of robust security programmes needed today . From establishing and maintaining a secure network perimeter to ensuring round-theclock regulatory compliance without impacting operational efficiency , modern cybersecurity is a team effort , one that CIOs and CISOs must lead from the front .
The stats behind the story
The good news is that reality is starting to reflect this best practice . According to recent research by Commvault and Futurum , nearly all ( 99 %) of the 200 C-Suite and senior-level IT executives ( more than half of which were CIOs , CSOs and CISOs ) indicated that the relationship between IT and security had grown more connected over the past 12 months .
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