Chief Information Security Officer Requirements, Skills & Qualifications

The following common skills and qualifications are required of a Chief Information Security Officer:

  • Degree in business administration or a technology-related field required. 
  • Professional security management certification
  • Minimum of 8 to 12 years of experience in a combination of risk management, information security and IT jobs
  • Knowledge of common information security management frameworks, such as ISO/IEC 27001, and NIST.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills and high level of personal integrity
  • Innovative thinking and leadership with an ability to lead and motivate cross-functional, interdisciplinary teams
  • Experience with contract and vendor negotiations and management including managed services.
  • Specific experience in Agile (scaled) software development or other best in class development practices.
  • Experience with Cloud computing/Elastic computing across virtualized environments

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of Chief Information Security Officer skill, qualifications and experience. Job requirements for specific Chief Information Security Officer roles may vary, depending on the industry and type of employer.