What does an information security manager do? What are the roles and responsibilities that he needs to fill-in?
After years of studying, you might consider being one in the future. It is nice to have a goal in mind when it comes to our careers, right?
But becoming a manager in whatever field means having a lot on your plate. And being an information security (Infosec) manager means you have to play many roles.
What are these? Keep on reading to know more.
Information Security Manager: Key Roles
If you want to be an Infosec manager in the future, keep in mind that it does not only mean playing manager.
Yes, you need to do that. Infosec managers will take care of a team or a department. Then, they also need to be top-notch in their decision-making. As it will affect many.
Further, they also need to aid in making a strong Infosec team. This is by training and educating them from time to time. And by making sure they can take care of lower-level tasks on their own.
Thus, due to the need in taking care of a team, there is a need for strong managerial people skills. But it is not always easy to have this.
The next part of the roles they play is on the technical side. Infosec managers need to be the chief of analysts.
Thus, they need to be adept in assessing any Infosec situations. Then, make the right steps needed in each one.
But it does not only mean being able to respond to incidents. It also includes:
- assessing security plans for any weaknesses
- analyzing threat reports
- focusing security to more sensitive data
- running security tests to areas where issues may arise
Then, another role they need to fill in is being a communicator. Why? Because they need to be able to communicate with other teams and managers.
Infosec issues and threats do not only concern the IT department. So, Infosec managers need to inform the whole company of any risks and threats.
Also, they need to make sure that everyone in the company follows the Infosec policies.
Information Security Manager: Responsibilities
Infosec managers also have a lot of responsibilities. And most of the time, these are higher-level tasks only they can do. What are these?
Here are some:
- giving infosec training to all employees
- managing security team members
- training new security team members
- making and fulfilling security strategies
- overseeing internal or third-party audits
- seeing the budget and costs for attending tech training
- being the point of contact for any security concerns
- assessing systems and finding any weak spots for upgrades or updates
- making and taking care of physical security, disaster recovery, and more
Of course, these are only the basic ones. It may differ per company.
Conclusion
So, here are the details on what Infosec managers need to do. Does this sound a lot? Do you think you can fill in these shoes? if so, go ahead and aim for that job. Set the right goals and go for it.
