Cyber Security Governance & Risk Management
Cyber Security Governance & Risk Management Career Overview
Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management entails understanding, analysing, evaluating, and responding to the cyber security hazards facing their organisation. Individuals in this profession will regularly communicate with general managers and other important stakeholders within their organisation in order to understand their assets and their worth, which is necessary when identifying potential risks. They will be familiar with the methods used to store and transfer data inside the organisation. Alongside this, Cyber Security Governance and Risk Managers collaborate closely with their co-workers from other cyber security pathways, particularly in Vulnerability Management and Cyber Threat Intelligence. This will occur when assessing the possibility and impact of a risk affecting a system or a piece of information.
In most cases, risk management specialists are employed directly by a business as a member of its information security team. Risk managers are also responsible for evaluating the efficiency of a company's risk management procedures and making any necessary adjustments as needed. The risk management specialist must be fully aware of all operational, financial, compliance, technology, and asset-related issues facing the business.
A cyber security governance and risk management professional will be resourceful in utilising their knowledge of the organisation's business and values, the scope of the risks, and the efficacy of the available risk control options if your responsibilities go beyond identifying and assessing risks to determining the most appropriate approaches to managing them.
What are the roles and responsibilities of a Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management Practitioner?
In general, the work in this pathway focuses on ensuring the security of an organisation's information systems and data by establishing policies, monitoring compliance, and adhering to predefined procedures to detect, assess, and manage risks from both internal and external threats. All of these decisions are made in accordance with the organisation's risk management philosophy.
The tasks likely included in this role as a practitioner are as follows:
- Identify the threats and vulnerabilities to the information systems and data security of an organisation that pose a danger to cyber security.
- Design cyber security policies and procedures that take into account the operational, legal, and regulatory requirements of an organisation.
- Monitor compliance with regulations.
- Analyse the significance and probability of identified cyber security concerns.
- Propose risk management strategies, such as risk avoidance, risk mitigation, risk sharing, and risk acceptance, depending on the degree of responsibility and the seriousness of certain risks.
- Either build and maintain a separate risk register for cyber security issues or incorporate them in the organisation's general risk register.
- Monitor the tracking of adherence to the established policies and procedures and provide top management with a report on this.
- Determine the need for policies and procedures and keep an eye on their creation and updating.
What is the salary of a Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management Practitioner?
As of September 2022, the median salary for a Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management Practitioner is £70,000, although salaries of £120,000 for senior practitioners have been reported. The majority of the higher salaries are based in the UK’s larger cities, so it is to be expected that roles elsewhere may offer lower wages.
Data has been taken from ITJobsWatch (IT Jobs Watch | Real-Time Digital & IT Job Market Trends & Actionable Insights), which calculates the median from job vacancies published online within the last 6 months.
What are the knowledge, skills, and behaviours required in Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management?
- Clear knowledge of organisational security controls and security management systems, including standards, best practices, and methods for risk assessment and mitigation.
- Strong understanding of national and international legal and statutory standards, compliance obligations, and security ethics, including data protection and evolving cyber warfare doctrines.
- Solid grasp of usable security, social and behavioural aspects that affect security, security culture and awareness, as well as the influence of security policies on user behaviour.
- A good understanding of attacker models, safe-secure designs, and security of large-scale infrastructures, as well as security difficulties in cyber-physical systems such as the Internet of Things and Industrial Control Systems.
- Able to analyse the possibility (taking into consideration vulnerabilities and threats), impact, and use of cyberattack strategies as well as intentional or unintentional detrimental activities by individuals within the organisation.
- Has the ability to use risk management techniques like those in ISO 27001 and industry-specific standards like PCI-DSS.
- Skilled at connecting the operational requirements of an organisation with the legal and regulatory requirements.
- Ability to reach logical, consistent conclusions by accounting for many complex elements.
- Proficient in both written and verbal communication, especially in producing official documents that are thorough and clear.
- Can provide rational, factual justifications for all actions made.
- Capable of motivating and assisting co-workers, including those from other departments, to accomplish shared goals.
- Ability to function well while adhering to organisational norms, procedures, security requirements, and legal restrictions.
What are the career paths in Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management?
Most smaller businesses have a team for overall company risk management which will include cyber security governance and risk management. Those who keep a separate cyber security risk management department may have two levels of accountability.
Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management Practitioner:
- Will frequently centre on risk identification and assessment, as well as, in some situations, policy development, taking into account statutory and regulatory requirements, and policy monitoring.
- May also be included in assessing the efficiency of the used risk management procedures.
Cyber Security Governance and Risk Management Senior Practitioner:
- Will be responsible for managing the risk management procedure and assisting in the assessment of difficult issues.
- Could also supervise the work of less experienced co-workers, particularly when it comes to the creation and approval of policies.
- Might collaborate with risk owners, general business managers, or peers in other departments, including IT, to manage policies and risks in the context of the organization's high-level goals and values.