Combining CISO and CIO Roles
Carl Froggett, who currently occupies both positions at Deep Instinct, believes that the two roles overlap, making a combined role attractive. However, he notes that this doesn't work for all companies, citing the example of Citi, where he was CISO for almost 17 years, and which has over 200,000 employees. In contrast, Deep Instinct has fewer than 200 employees, making it more feasible to combine the roles.
According to Froggett, both CISO and CIO ultimately support the business, with the CIO responsible for technology strategy and the CISO responsible for ensuring it is secured. He emphasizes that there is no such thing as zero risk and that the business cannot operate safely without the CISO, nor can it operate at all without the CIO's infrastructure.
The Challenge of Combining Roles
Froggett acknowledges that combining the roles can lead to a loss of impartiality and alternative views. To mitigate this, he encourages his IT team to challenge him and fosters a culture of openness where everyone can speak up. He believes that this helps to avoid tunnel vision and bad decisions.
Early Career and Transition to Cybersecurity
Froggett began his career with an interest in technology, gaining a BSc in Computer Science from Loughborough. He started work as a contract engineer and later joined Salomon Brothers, where he worked mostly as a network engineer. After Salomon was acquired by the Travelers Group, and Travelers merged with Citicorp to create Citigroup, Froggett found himself working for Citigroup.
He transitioned from an IT engineer to EMEA Information Security Services Manager at Citi, and later became CISO, a position he held for almost 17 years. Froggett's transition to cybersecurity was accidental, but he immediately loved the challenge and excitement of it.
Leadership and Career Advice
Froggett believes that leadership is about being a bridge between staff's personal effort and aspirations, and the company's direction and purpose. He emphasizes the importance of empathy, not just towards people, but also towards the business. His career advice is to never say no to an opportunity and to always be open to new experiences and challenges.
He encourages his team members to speak up and highlights the importance of accepting opportunity and growing as individuals. Froggett believes that nurturing the person, not just the work, is essential for leadership and has played a part in the success of many of his team members who have gone on to achieve major successes.
Primary Cybersecurity Concern
Froggett's primary cybersecurity concern is artificial intelligence, which he believes has a huge upside but also a potential for great harm. He notes that bad actors are already leveraging generative AI models to do harm and that this will get worse over time. Froggett believes that companies, especially security companies like Deep Instinct, have a chance to counter AI-wielding bad actors, but it's a worry that keeps him awake at night.
- AI can be used for great harm, including writing code using gen-AI, which allows bad actors to be intent-based rather than instruction-based.
- Companies like Deep Instinct are well-versed in AI and have a chance to counter AI-wielding bad actors.
- AI will disrupt business careers, including the kind of career progression Froggett was lucky enough to enjoy.
Source: SecurityWeek