The Chief Information Security Officer is the senior executive responsible for establishing and maintaining an organisation's information security vision, strategy and programme. The CISO oversees risk assessments, security architecture, incident response, compliance with regulations and frameworks, and security awareness across the organisation.
Modern CISOs must balance technical expertise with business acumen, translating complex security risks into business terms for board-level reporting. They play a pivotal role in frameworks like ISO 27001, where top management commitment is a mandatory requirement, and are increasingly held accountable for regulatory compliance under GDPR, NIS2 and the EU AI Act.