WHAT DOES A CYBERSECURITY DIRECTOR DO?
Published: Dec 2, 2024 – The Cybersecurity Director directs the administration and operation of security systems while ensuring compliance with privacy and security policies. This position develops and implements cost-effective solutions to security challenges, provides metrics and insights on information security efforts, and leads the recruitment and development of cybersecurity staff. The director also fosters strategic relationships with external entities, supports ISO 27001/22301 programs, and oversees intelligence, forensic, and access management functions to safeguard organizational assets.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Cybersecurity Director
1. Cybersecurity Director Accountabilities
- Cybersecurity Leadership: Lead the growth of Cyber practice by developing and implementing strategic and tactical plans.
- Team Mentorship: Lead, mentor, and train the team of cybersecurity professionals (Senior Associates, Managers, Associate Directors, and Directors).
- Client Engagement: Oversee highly complex and specialized client engagements.
- Data Privacy Programs: Build and implement data privacy programs for clients, including but not limited to CCPA, GDPR, and CSCF.
- Industry Trends: Build and maintain client relationships and stay abreast of industry trends.
- Budget Management: Negotiate scope of work, bill rates, and budgets for recurring projects at existing clients.
- Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with all CNM service lines to identify cross-functional client and industry opportunities.
- Security Compliance: Stay current on service standards and products, end-to-end services, and emerging technologies and threats.
- Risk and Governance: Lead insightful, expert-level conversations at the C-level around security compliance, risk, and governance.
- IT Risk Assessment: Manage project teams to review and assess IT environments, risks, and controls for companies ranging from newly public high-growth entities to the largest public companies.
2. Cybersecurity Director Functions
- Cybersecurity Leadership: Responsible for the global cybersecurity department of Hexagon.
- Strategy Development: Work across multiple teams and help set up a holistic cybersecurity strategy.
- Reporting: As part of the organization, reporting to the CIO.
- Roadmap Development: Develop and present security product roadmaps, reference architectures, and implementation plans from concept to production and operational support.
- Technical Solutions: Develop technical solutions and new security tools to mitigate security vulnerabilities.
- Event Management: Develop and manage collection, reporting, and analysis of security events and metrics.
- Security Framework: Develop and enhance security management framework based on best practices.
- Consultation: Consult with IT and business line staff to ensure that security controls are factored into the evaluation, selection, installation, and configuration of technology assets and processes.
- Security Assessments: Perform security assessments for gap analysis and provide recommendations to close gaps.
- Monitoring Tools: Develop a common set of security monitoring tools. Define operational parameters for their use and conduct reviews of tool output.
3. Cybersecurity Director Job Description
- Strategic Direction: Provide strategic information security direction for the organization that aligns with business and IT objectives, including the multi-year technology transformation program that the company is currently executing.
- Security Program Development: Build a security program that proactively manages the risks of today’s advanced and persistent cyber threats.
- Operational Security Management: Accountable for managing and overseeing all operational security functions for proactive detection and remediation of cybersecurity threats as well as associated forensic investigations.
- Security Architecture: Jointly create, implement, and maintain the overall security architecture of the corporation with the director of architecture and architecture team.
- Security Awareness: Collaborate with senior business staff members to further information security awareness and develop a security-oriented culture.
- Cybersecurity Leadership: Lead and manage the company's lead cybersecurity council with industry participants’ security leaders.
- Team Management: Manage a team of security professionals and analysts to build, manage, and operate the security team at the company.
- Security Framework: Create, implement, manage, and operate a security management and operational framework and governance.
- Incident Management: Specialize in incident management response, security architecture, and security risk management.
- Risk Mitigation: Ensure that information security risks are identified, evaluated, and mitigated, aligning with the risk posture.
- Senior Leadership Engagement: Engage senior leadership across Discover, both within Technology, Risk Management, and Audit to communicate the cybersecurity strategy and key information security initiatives.
4. Cybersecurity Director Overview
- Cybersecurity Program Development: Develop and refine a world-class cybersecurity program that focuses on protecting resources and the firm.
- Strategic Security Planning: Lead the short-, mid-, and long-term strategic security planning to achieve business goals by prioritizing defense initiatives.
- Security Technology Management: Coordinate the evaluation, deployment, and management of current and future security technologies.
- Security Strategy Communication: Develop and communicate security strategies and plans to the executive team, Partners, staff, customers, and stakeholders.
- Policy Enforcement: Develop, implement, maintain, and oversee enforcement of policies, procedures, and associated plans for system security administration and user system access based on industry-standard best practices.
- Regulatory Compliance: Keep documentation current following regulatory changes.
- Budget Management: Develop, track, and control the Cybersecurity service's annual operating and capital budgets for purchasing, staffing, and operations.
- Executive Liaison: Interact with the Chief Information Officer (CIO) as a liaison for all cybersecurity-related initiatives and planning.
- Security System Management: Define and communicate firm plans, procedures, policies, and standards for the organization for acquiring, implementing, and operating new security systems, equipment, software, and other technologies.
- Risk Assessment: Assess and communicate any security risks associated with any purchases or practices performed by the company.
- Security Advocacy: Act as an advocate and primary liaison for the firm’s security vision via regular written and in-person communications with the firm’s leadership, department heads, and end-users.
- IT Collaboration: Work closely with the IT department on enterprise technology developments to fully secure information, computer, network, and processing systems.
5. Cybersecurity Director Additional Details
- Security Systems Administration: Oversee the standards for the administration of all computer security systems and their corresponding or associated software, including firewalls, intrusion detection systems, cryptography systems, and anti-virus software.
- Problem Resolution: Creatively and independently provide resolution to security problems in a cost-effective manner.
- Policy Compliance: Collaborate with IT leadership, General Counsel, and Human Resources to establish and maintain a system for ensuring that security and privacy policies are met.
- Security Metrics and Communication: Provide metrics and communications to the firm leadership team around information security-related endeavors.
- Security Investigations: Assist the General Counsel in conducting internal and external security investigations.
- Cybersecurity Staff Management: Supervise recruitment, development, retention, and organization of cybersecurity staff following budgetary objectives and personnel policies.
- External Security Relations: Promote strategic security relationships between internal resources and external entities, including government, vendors, and partner organizations.
- Industry Awareness: Remain informed on trends and issues in the security industry, including current and emerging technologies and prices.
- Cybersecurity Advisory: Give advice, counsel, and educational leadership and management teams on cybersecurity-related threats and risks to the organization, their relative importance, and their financial impact.
- Security Function Leadership: Lead the intelligence, forensic, monitoring, and access management functions and resources.
- ISO Program Support: Support the Firm’s ISO 27001 and ISO 22301 programs and all governing bodies, including the Information Security and Business Continuity Management Systems (ISMS/BCMS) and Committee.
- Policy Enforcement: Attend meetings, reviewing, discussing, and enforcing policies, procedures, and standards.