Alain Sanchez, Fortinet

A decade ago, those now referred to as CISOs were not considered nearly as important as they are today. Nowadays, the same people get a dedicated seat on the board, and CEOs ask them important questions and weigh their responses. The tone of these questions has also changed. They’re now along the lines of: Can you provide insight into whether or not we should buy this company? Please will you prepare metrics regarding our cyber posture to present to our stakeholders next week?

Alain Sanchez, EMEA Field CISO at Fortinet, says this change in attitude shows how the CISO has become more deeply involved in decision-making, and that when innovation is involved, the CISO is consulted. Far from being the ‘Doctor No’ of the past, the CISO has become a source of inspiration for innovation, rallying data analysts and software developers under the same banner of secure operations.