As a vCSO, this is your moment of truth. Because compliance isn’t about checking a regulatory box. It’s about proving the organization wasn’t negligent. And if your client’s security decisions aren’t mapped to a recognized standard, you’re not building a defense—you’re handing ammunition to regulators, insurers, and attorneys. 

There’s a dangerous assumption lurking inside many boardrooms today: If nothing bad has happened, nothing bad is coming. For vCSOs, that’s the most perilous mindset you can allow your clients to fall into. And it happens faster than you think. If you’re not actively telling the story of the risks you’re managing, the value you’re delivering, and the dangers you’re helping your clients avoid, you’ll wake up one day to find your budgets slashed and your influence gone. 

CSOs play a critical role in guiding organizations through the recovery process after significant outages. As the overseers of security infrastructure, they shoulder the responsibility of addressing disruptions swiftly and effectively, becoming first responders in crises like the one on July 19th.

Business continuity and disaster recovery are not just about safeguarding IT infrastructure; they’re about ensuring the resilience of the entire organization.

Backups are an organization’s security net. If you’ve got a backup, you’re safe even if your system gets hacked, right? WRONG.