Chief Information Security Officer
What the work is
Plans, organises, directs, controls and reviews the cyber security strategies, plans and operations in an organisation to ensure compliance with cyber security policy, standards, regulations and legislation.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Formulates cyber security frameworks to secure an organisation's data and technology systems from threats
- Aligns cyber security initiatives with business objectives
- Reports on the cyber security risk profile, status of systems, security risks and security incidents
- Translates information security risks into operational risks
- Oversees an organisation's response to cyber security incidents, including crisis management
- Contributes to business continuity and disaster recovery plans related to cyber security
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in the technology and security leadership team of a fictional regional credit union. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A security exercise goes badly in practice, so it goes well when it matters
- You get the board to understand a technology risk without a single piece of jargon
- A system upgrade lands quietly, with no complaints from anyone
Hard days
- A serious alert comes in at 2am and you have to decide how loud to be
- Asked to promise the organisation is completely secure, which nobody can honestly do
- Choosing which important project waits because the budget cannot cover everything
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 113132, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.