Can already beleaguered CISOs now add possible legal charges to their smorgasbord of job considerations? Disclose a breach to comply and face dismissal, or cover it up and face personal punishment.
This is a challenging time to be a CISO. The security community has been eagerly following multiple stories regarding Uber in the past few weeks. From the play-by-play of their recent major hack, to last week’s guilty verdict of former Uber security chief Joe Sullivan, CISOs are facing considerable challenges.
The verdict in the Sullivan case found him guilty of obstructing a federal investigation and concealing a felony from the government. According to the New York Times: “Stephanie M. Hinds, the US attorney for the Northern District of California, said in a statement: ‘We will not tolerate concealment of important information from the public by corporate executives more interested in protecting their reputation and that of their employers than in protecting users. Where such conduct violates the federal law, it will be prosecuted.'”
The government is sending a message to CISOs in the US — disclose and potentially lose your job, or cover up and go to jail.
Chen Burshan, Skyhawk Security CEO, authored this post that first appeared in Dark Reading. Click here to continue reading the post.
