10 Questions Board must ask the CISO to validate protection, compliance and resilience

For organizations to remain secure, compliant, and resilient, executive leadership must engage in meaningful dialogue with the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). The following are ten crucial questions that the board and executive management should ask the CISO, along with the rationale behind each question and the expected performance indicators.

1. What is our current cybersecurity risk posture, and how does it align with our business goals?

Understanding the organization’s current risk landscape is essential for aligning cybersecurity efforts with business objectives. This question helps executives gauge whether the security strategies are sufficient to protect the company’s most valuable assets and if they support business growth without introducing unacceptable risk.

KPIs: Regular risk assessments, risk heat maps, and alignment reports showing risk tolerance levels and mitigations.

2. How are we measuring the effectiveness of our cybersecurity controls?

Metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) are vital to evaluating the performance of security measures. This question ensures that the board understands how the CISO quantifies security efforts, from incident response times to vulnerability management, and whether the current controls are providing a solid return on investment.

KPIs: KPIs such as mean time to detect (MTTD), mean time to respond (MTTR), number of incidents mitigated, percentage of vulnerabilities patched within a given timeframe, and audit compliance scores.

3. What is our incident response plan, and how often is it tested?

Cyber incidents are inevitable, and preparation is key. Asking about the incident response plan’s scope and frequency of testing confirms whether the organization can respond effectively to a breach and minimize damage. This is crucial for maintaining business continuity and protecting stakeholder trust.

KPIs: Frequency of incident response plan tests, percentage of response times met, post-incident review reports, and improvements made following simulations.

4. What are our biggest cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and what are we doing to address them?

Identifying and mitigating vulnerabilities is fundamental to strengthening an organization’s defense. This question ensures the board is aware of critical weaknesses and the measures in place to remediate them before adversaries can exploit them.

KPIs: Vulnerability scan results, percentage of critical vulnerabilities resolved within SLA, number of zero-day vulnerabilities patched, and reduction in high-risk assets over time.

5. How do we ensure compliance with relevant regulations and industry standards?

Compliance is not just a legal requirement but a safeguard for protecting data and privacy. This question helps ensure that the organization meets regulatory requirements such as GDPR, CCPA, and industry-specific standards, minimizing legal and reputational risks.

KPIs: Audit findings, compliance certification status (e.g., ISO 27001, SOC 2), number of compliance-related incidents, and the rate of compliance gaps closed.

6. What is our strategy for protecting data, especially sensitive and high-value information?

Data is the lifeblood of most modern organizations. This question emphasizes the importance of data protection strategies, including encryption, data loss prevention (DLP), and access controls, to safeguard sensitive information from both external and internal threats.

KPIs: Percentage of data encrypted, data access audit logs, number of DLP incidents blocked, and policy compliance rates.

7. How do we stay ahead of emerging threats and vulnerabilities?

Cybersecurity is a constantly evolving field. This question helps the board understand the mechanisms in place for threat intelligence, vulnerability management, and proactive measures, ensuring the organization is not playing catch-up but staying one step ahead of adversaries.

KPIs: Threat intelligence feed integration, percentage of vulnerabilities patched within 24/48 hours, proactive threat simulations, and number of zero-day vulnerabilities identified and mitigated.

8. What is our budget for cybersecurity, and how is it allocated?

Adequate funding is crucial for maintaining a robust security posture. This question allows the board to ensure that cybersecurity investments are proportionate to the level of risk the organization faces and that funds are being spent on the most critical areas.

KPIs: Budget allocation breakdown by area (e.g., threat detection, incident response, training), cost per incident, return on security investment (ROSI), and the efficiency of budget utilization.

9. How are we addressing the human element of cybersecurity, including employee training and awareness?

People are often the weakest link in the security chain. This question emphasizes the importance of continuous employee education to recognize phishing attempts, handle data securely, and follow best practices for cybersecurity.

KPIs: Percentage of employees who completed cybersecurity training, number of phishing simulations and success rates, reduction in human-related security incidents, and training program feedback scores.

10. What plans do we have in place for business continuity and disaster recovery in the event of a cyber incident?

A comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery plan ensures that the organization can resume operations with minimal disruption after a cyberattack. This question underscores the importance of preparing for worst-case scenarios to protect the organization’s resilience.

KPIs: RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and RPO (Recovery Point Objective) achievement rates, successful execution of disaster recovery plans, downtime during simulations, and post-recovery review effectiveness.

Conclusion

These questions provide a solid foundation for discussions between the CISO and executive leadership. By asking these questions, boards can obtain a clear understanding of the organization’s cybersecurity posture, identify areas of improvement, and ensure that digital assets are protected and compliance standards are met. In an era where cybersecurity breaches can have devastating consequences, proactive engagement between the board and the CISO is critical for sustained security and resilience.

"This article was created with the assistance of AI to help organize thoughts and enhance clarity. While AI contributed to the structure and content, the insights, interpretations, and opinions expressed are my own."