Top 30 Chief Security Officer (CSO) Interview Questions and Answers for 2018

The role of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) is highly sought-after in the world of cybersecurity. When you become a CSO, you take on a wide-scope role, covering everything that touches your security risk as an organization.

If you reach the heady heights where you think “OK, now I’m ready to apply for a role as a CSO,” then you’ll want to make sure you are prepared. Because the role of Chief Security Officer covers many aspects of the security of a business and because the role is C-level, the variety of interview questions can be vast and challenging. The organization will be investing in you and they want to make sure that investment pays off.

Below, we have listed some of the questions we think have a good chance of coming up in the interview for the role of a Chief Security Officer. We will cover them under three different levels, “Advanced General Technical,” “CSO Basic” and “CSO Advanced.” Let’s jump straight in.

Level One: Advanced General Technical

These are general technical questions with a security slant that you would be expected to have an advanced level of knowledge about.

1. Can you tell me what resources you use to keep up-to-date with cybersecurity threats?

It is useful to have a list prepared of what journals and authorities you use to keep your security knowledge up to date. At this level, you should already be aware of some of the key industry bodies. This includes OWASP, who compile a Top Ten list of security vulnerabilities in various areas including Cloud security. Other useful bodies that publish rich research into cybersecurity, include Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) and NIST’s Computer Security Resource Center (NIST CSRC). There is also a vast range of excellent blogs and online publications that look at (Read more...)