At the Wall Street Journal's CIO Network event held the first week in February, CIOs and CTOs from different industries around the world discussed and prioritized recommendations to guide business and policy for the rest of the year.
The discussions largely centered around two themes, according to a recap report in WSJ: cybersecurity and delivering change through effective communication.
Here are the top five strategic priorities as discussed at the CIO Network event.
1. Ensure everybody makes security their business. This includes vendors, third parties and everybody in the business community knows security boundaries as well as what needs to be protected. At the same time, everybody involved in a business is also a target, according to the report. "In today's connected age, CIOs mused on the idea that 'everyone is a sensor,' and therefore susceptible to the opportunities and challenges in today's threat landscape," according to the report.
2. Cyber risk is a business risk. Cybersecurity translates directly into money, so CIOs and CISOs have the responsibility of outlining this exchange to CEOs and boards of directors, according to the report. "Putting monetary value on security events, and tying security to real-life business case, can show senior executives the potential impact of a cyber event in terms that make sense to them," according to the report.
3. CIOs should be the change they want to see. As the leaders of IT in any organization, CIOs need to be on the frontlines initiating and driving change across the businesses. By understanding steps to create change, factoring in corporate culture and pacing one's self, a CIO can be the one to deliver tangible outcomes, according to the report.
4. Speak the business language. According to the report, strategic vision and execution are essential for change, and effectively communicating this to stakeholders requires CIOs to communicate in a business-centric manner, as it is a language stakeholders use and are comfortable with. Then, CIOs should be sure to measure and communicate successes.
5. Anticipate high-threat events. The report calls such events "cyber 9/11" events, or catastrophic cybersecurity issues. Organizations should look at cybersecurity issues on an international level, crossing industries and boundaries to best prepare for the worst. "CIOs likened the process to securing a common cyber-border, sharing information across a number of partners to ensure each stakeholders is optimally protected," according to the report.
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