Cybersecurity Leadership: Why the CISO Can’t Own Business Risk

A CISO can’t own your business risk — and pretending they can is a failure of accountability. In cybersecurity leadership, titles can be deceiving. True leadership means clarifying ownership before risk owns you.

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The Role of Cybersecurity Leadership Isn’t What You Think

In cybersecurity leadership, titles can be deceiving.

On the org chart, the CISO sits alongside the CFO, COO, CIO, and other C-suite leaders. But in practice, the CISO’s authority is different. Their influence is vital — but it isn’t sovereign over the business.

Recently, a CISO claimed that cybersecurity should prevail over all business functions, eclipsing peers in importance. It was a bold — and revealing — assertion.

After 20+ years advising executives on risk alignment, I can say this with confidence: when cybersecurity tries to lead the business instead of support it, it creates more risk — not less.

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Security Is a Support Function — Not a Sovereign One

ust as IT enables business processes, cybersecurity enables the safe execution of business priorities.

Technology creates lift only when aligned with business objectives and financial governance. Cybersecurity works the same way: it protects stakeholder value only when designed to fit within business strategy.

The NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF 2.0) is explicit: cyber risk is a component of enterprise risk management — not a separate authority above it.

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The Scale of the Cybersecurity Leadership Problem

According to a 2024 Forbes report:

• 33.2 million businesses operate in the U.S.

• 99.9% are small to midsize, generating ~50.7% of the U.S. economy.

• They face 46% of all cyberattacks.

Forbes also reports 53% of security professionals waste half their budgets on tools without strategy. That’s not a budget problem — it’s a risk accountability failure.

And only 36% of businesses take a formal budget approach to cybersecurity. Neither the CISO nor the CTO defines business or financial priorities. Without business-aligned risk management, resource constraints quickly multiply risk.

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Misalignment Isn’t a Budget Problem — It’s a Leadership Problem

In incident response, I’ve seen this play out again and again. When challenged on controls, security leaders often default to:

“We couldn’t afford it.”

But the real questions are:

• Was the need aligned to business risk?

• Was there a defensible budget?

• Was there a clear narrative to executives?

Harvard Business Review research confirms this: without cybersecurity leadership that speaks in business terms, security leaders can’t secure the resources they need.

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CISOs Must Serve the Business, Not Supersede It

The CISO is most effective when operating in service to leadership, not above it. Business functions generate revenue. Security protects that value when it’s properly aligned.

CISOs who treat financial responsibility as a strategic input — not a constraint — reduce risk more effectively and build stronger credibility with stakeholders.

The World Economic Forum reinforces this: cyber risk oversight is a shared leadership responsibility.

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The BravoCheck Perspective

Cybersecurity belongs to the business — because that’s where accountability for:

• Risk management

• Regulatory compliance

• Enterprise resilience

…ultimately resides.

CISOs who embrace this reality, and align their programs with operational and financial priorities, deliver security that works where it matters most.

At BravoCheck, our cybersecurity leadership expertise — backed by ANSI-accredited and DoD-approved credentials — helps leaders transform cybersecurity from a silo into a defensible business strategy trusted by regulators, executives, and investors.

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