The Public Eye with Eric Chabrow

CISOs Getting Deserved Respect

CISOs Getting Deserved Respect

The attention being paid by the White House and Congress on cybersecurity is seen as a morale booster for information security professionals in the trenches.

I spoke Friday with Jim Flyzk, the well-connected Washington IT executive with 27 years of government experience who served as Treasury CIO and White House IT adviser on homeland security. Now the head of consultancy The Flyzk Group, here's what he said about the impact on D.C. cybersecurity developments on chief information security officers:

"CISOs for a long time have been struggling to make cybersecurity a priority and get funding. Cybersecurity has traditionally been something that everybody nods their head in violent agreement that we got to do something, but we really haven't seen the money and resources to address it.

"CISOs are probably excited about the fact that cybersecurity now is getting so much priority and attention is something they've been trying to attain for a long, long time. They've kind of been seen as 'sky-is-falling' people in the past, and talking about all these issues, and people would listen, but no one would take action. I think now they're excited. Maybe we'll see some action being taken."

Still, Flyzk senses a bit of anxiety in the IT security trenches around Washington, as CIOs and IT security managers await to see what the White House and Congress do in restructuring the way cybersecurity is governed.

Please listen to my interview with Flyzk.



About the Author

Eric Chabrow

Eric Chabrow

Retired Executive Editor, GovInfoSecurity

Chabrow, who retired at the end of 2017, hosted and produced the semi-weekly podcast ISMG Security Report and oversaw ISMG's GovInfoSecurity and InfoRiskToday. He's a veteran multimedia journalist who has covered information technology, government and business.




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