Are we a trade or a profession? [CISO Perspectives]

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4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 24 April 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

We're sharing a episode from another N2K show we thought you might like. It's the first episode of the new season of the show CISO Perspectives with Kim Jones. Enjoy! Show Notes: Cybersecurity has an identity problem where the industry as a whole is struggling to determine whether it is a trade or a profession. In this episode of CISO Perspectives, host Kim Jones sits down with Larry Whiteside Jr., the Chief Advisory Officer for The CISO Society, to discuss this identity crisis and how the industry as a whole connects to both of these labels. Throughout the conversation, Larry and Kim will discuss the merits and drawbacks of both labels and how cybersecurity does not solely fall into one category or the other. Want more CISO Perspectives?: Check out a companion blog post by our very own Ethan Cook, where he breaks down key insights, shares behind-the-scenes context, and highlights research that complements this episode. It’s the perfect follow-up if you’re curious about the cyber talent crunch and how we can reshape the ecosystem for future professionals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the Cyberwire Network, powered by N2K.
0:09.5	Welcome to CSO Perspectives.
0:11.9	My name is Kim Jones, and I am thrilled to be your host for this season's journey.
0:16.7	Here we provide in-depth conversations and analysis of the complex issues and challenges,
0:21.6	technological and otherwise, that the average CSO faces.
0:25.4	We're bringing the deep conversations out of the conference, or more realistically, the conference bar,
0:31.3	and tackling a single complex issue from every conceivable angle across a multi-episode arc.
0:45.3	For our inaugural season, we here as CSO perspectives have chosen to tackle the challenges surrounding the cyber talent ecosystem. We've been complaining about talent issues for the better part of a decade,
0:49.3	but our piecemeal solutions don't seem to be solving the problem.
0:53.3	Today we explore the question but our piecemeal solutions don't seem to be solving the problem.
1:02.0	Today we explore the question, is cybersecurity a trade or a profession?
1:09.0	Now, as a reminder, this is just one of three episodes that will be available to everyone. After the next episode, CISSo Perspectives is available only to CyberWire Pro subscribers.
1:14.7	If you haven't already done so,
1:16.7	head on over to thecyberwire.com slash pro
1:19.6	to sign up so you can keep going deep with us on these conversations.
1:24.6	And now, onto the show.
1:57.9	Thank you. And now, on to the show. In 2013, 18 years after the chief information security officer role was created,
2:03.0	the National Academy of Sciences, or NAS, released the report.
2:09.4	This report stated that cybersecurity should be seen as an occupation, not a profession.
2:16.6	In this report, NAS stated that the cybersecurity field was too young, and that the technologies,
2:19.0	threats, and actions taken to counter them were changing too rapidly. Further, NAS felt that professionalization would, and a quote,
2:26.7	impose certain barriers to entry which would prevent workers from entering the field at a time
	...

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