Chief information security officer

Find out what a chief information security officer in the Senior Civil Service does and the skills you need to do the role.

Published 7 October 2024

Contents

— What a chief information security officer does
— Skills for chief information security officer
— Roles that share chief information security officer skills
— Roles that could lead to chief information security officer

What a chief information security officer does

A chief information security officer creates an environment and culture in the organisation that ensures the security of its information and technology. They enable the organisation to achieve its objectives and deliver services in a safe and secure way.

The chief information security officer role is part of both the Government Digital and Data profession and the Government Security profession.

In this role, you will:

create a strategy for information and cyber security that supports both the organisation's strategy and wider government security strategy
lead the organisation in implementing the information and cyber security strategy
evaluate the current status and maturity of information and cyber security in the organisation
determine how to get to the level of information and cyber security maturity the organisation needs
understand risks across the organisation and advise the board and other leaders on how to mitigate risks in their areas and in future plans
enable the organisation to be innovative in a safe and secure way
ensure the organisation is prepared for cyber attacks and can detect, respond to and recover from an attack
ensure that information and cyber security aspects of crisis management are effective
encourage a culture of cyber security awareness and good security practices
implement practices to increase the maturity of information and cyber security

A specific chief information security officer job can vary depending on the context and challenges in your organisation.

This role is often performed at the Civil Service job grade of:

SCS 1 (Senior Civil Service 1)
SCS 2 (Senior Civil Service 2)

Skills for chief information security officer

The chief information security officer role will need to use digital and data skills to:

be an effective digital and data leader
operate in different contexts, depending on the context and challenges in your organisation

Skill	Description, including examples of leadership
Strategic cyber security planning	You can: determine the right balance between the organisation's cyber and information security capabilities, acceptable level of risk and speed of technology progress decide areas that need security investment create a security roadmap that enables the organisation to achieve its objectives Examples of leadership using this skill: explaining the mutual benefits of the security strategy to a range of stakeholders and teams to bring them onboard advising other leaders on how to integrate security requirements in their strategies ensuring security is part of all the organisation's initiatives, despite competing priorities gaining support for investment in security from other leaders
Changing security culture	You can: put in place continuous cyber and information security awareness and education programs, for example, training for specific groups use a range of methods to assess whether people’s security behaviour is improving compare the maturity of security awareness and culture in your organisation against others across government to determine effective improvements Examples of leadership using this skill: incentivising the right behaviours across the whole organisation so that everyone knows how they contribute to security persuading senior leadership to represent a campaign personally communicating insights from previous incidents to ensure they are learned from
Cyber security governance	You can: develop an effective cyber and information security governance framework that is integrated with overall organisational governance prioritise issues affecting the organisation’s ability to meet security policies and follow standards lead a continuous review process to ensure governance meets changing regulations, legislation and best practices mitigate risks caused by unavoidable exceptions to the governance framework Examples of leadership using this skill: escalating risks to the highest level in the organisation when governance issues do not have defined owners persuading others to use their financial resources for changes needed to comply with the framework helping stakeholders be aware of the risks that are caused when an exception is agreed
Cyber risk management	You can: maintain a clear understanding of the cyber and information security risks across the whole organisation develop and implement risk assessment processes oversee the assessment of the organisation's partners and supply chain for potential threats or vulnerabilities Examples of leadership using this skill: building a culture where teams have awareness of, and take responsibility for, risks and mitigating them advising programme owners and people running IT services about risks in a way that enables them to act on that advice communicating with senior leaders in a way that enables them to make decisions about accepting or mitigating risk
Security architecture	You can: ensure the organisation’s technical architecture is appropriately resilient to cyber threats and attacks and has appropriate recovery mechanisms oversee the use of processes, tools, platforms and other practices needed to effectively implement secure technical architecture ensure your supply chain is managing cyber risk based on the level of risk your organisation accepts Examples of leadership using this skill: educating senior leaders on the importance of security in the development of services and products deciding when exceptions to security policy and processes are allowed getting support for investment to ensure appropriate security in the organisation’s supply chain
Cyber incident strategy and management	You can: implement cyber incident management processes that reflect the level of risk accepted by the organisation ensure the organisation is prepared for, and can effectively respond to, incidents determine the impact of critical incidents on the organisation’s technology lead the response to critical incidents that affect the whole organisation Examples of leadership using this skill: helping the incident management team build relationships with senior leaders competing for resources with other priorities in the organisation assessing what to communicate to the board, ministers or the whole organisation, and when to do it
Innovation in digital and data	You can: detect and analyse early trends in technology, data or cyber security that could be important for your organisation advise the organisation on the implications of new technologies and uses of data, such as ethical, security or legal implications support teams to identify opportunities for innovation introduce technologies and methods that address shared problems Examples of leadership using this skill: building trust and credibility with stakeholders by demonstrating the relevance of new technologies or methods to address organisational challenges helping people at all levels of your organisation understand the potential benefits and risks of changes persuading other leaders to support and invest in innovation
Capability building for digital and data teams	You can: guide the organisation to ensure it has the technical, security or data skills it needs develop organisational processes and ways of working so that digital and data roles you support can thrive continuously improve and optimise the organisational environment Examples of leadership using this skill: prioritising capability needs that will have the most impact negotiating for longer-term investment in people by articulating the risks and benefits of different staffing strategies advocating for good practice in ways of working and supporting people to adopt this practice growing digital and data communities

Roles that share chief information security officer skills

Role	Shared skills
Chief data officer	Innovation in digital and data Capability building for digital and data teams
Chief technology officer	Innovation in digital and data Capability building for digital and data teams

Innovation in digital and data

Capability building for digital and data teams

Innovation in digital and data

Capability building for digital and data teams