2023 CISO Trends: Beyond Business, It's Personal

Last year, I did an infographic on my top 10 CISO flavours 2022, featuring key topics frequently discussed by cyber leaders. Continuing this tradition, I've consolidated an overview of the key areas CISOs focused on in 2023.

Many of you know me for my keynotes at conferences and participation in industry panels. In addition to these, I also conduct forums and roundtables with hundreds of CISOs and cyber leaders, as well as deliver board and executive awareness workshops.

This year, I have been seeing a broad spectrum of different business demands, new challenges within our evolving operational landscape, and at the same time, the remarkable adaptability and passion of our cyber defenders. A quote that I always share at my keynotes rings so true, "Our cyber security agenda should extend beyond organisational mandates; it's vital to understand the human dimension and recognise its individual impact. It's not business, it's personal."

With increasing awareness of burnout and well-being, it's crucial for our leaders to constantly prioritise and re-prioritise their goals.

Here are my top 8 CISO flavours for the year 2023, and in no particular order:

• the CISO as a strategic role,
• cyber security metrics and tying it back to the business,
• effective board-level communication and reporting,
• cyber security operations,
• supply chain risk management,
• cyber team dynamics,
• regulatory compliance and trends, and
• gen AI (no surprises there).

Any other observations?

Interestingly, our cyber leaders have a great sense of humor, and they love Legos! Who would have thought my AI creation of a cyber Lego series would take off so well?

What trends have you noticed in your cyber journey this year? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Wishing everyone happy holidays!

About the Author

Shamane Tan?is the Chief Growth Officer at Sekuro, a leading global cyber resiliency company and the best-selling co-author of 'Cyber Mayday & the Day After'. Her new book has been recently featured in the Forbes special Summer coverage of "What business leaders are reading": 'Building a Cyber Resilient Business', a cyber handbook tailored for executives and boards consumption. She is also the author of 'Cyber Risk Leaders', one of her earlier works.

Shamane has worked with exciting start-ups all the way to global organisations extensively?in Australia and within the Asia-Pacific region. She advises the C-Suite on their business?security posture to the reality of the challenges they faced from regulatory issues and?cyber crime. She is also the founder of the Cyber Risk Meetup which is in six major cities across Australia, Singapore, Japan and Philippines. Her meetups offer security and risk professionals and enthusiasts a unique platform to impart?and exchange innovative insights.