IT auditor to chief ICT security officer
An IT auditor already meets 25% of what the chief ICT security officer role asks for. The move turns on 34 required skills not yet in the profile.
83.6/ 100
1 How much of what a chief ICT security officer is expected to do is already part of an IT auditor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the chief ICT security officer role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A chief ICT security officer role treats 13 of its required skills as things an IT auditor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- ICT network security risks
- ICT process quality models
- ICT project management
- ICT security legislation
- ICT security standards
- audit techniques
What stands in the way is 34 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 18 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A chief ICT security officer role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an IT auditor background worth leading with.
- already held ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards assisting and caring
- already held identify ICT security risks information skills
- already held manage IT security compliances working with computers
- already held identify legal requirements information skills
- already held organisational resilience business, administration and law
- already held ICT project management business, administration and law
All 18 carried skills, including the 13 the chief ICT security officer role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 63 missing skills fall into 12 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn attack vectors required
- still to learn data protection required
- still to learn decision support systems required
- still to learn ethical hacking principles required
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- still to learn assessment of risks and threats required
- optional, not held ICT encryption optional
- optional, not held ICT recovery techniques optional
- optional, not held ICT system user requirements optional
- optional, not held Internet of Things optional
- optional, not held cloud monitoring and reporting optional
- optional, not held cloud security and compliance optional
- optional, not held computer forensics optional
- optional, not held internet governance optional
- optional, not held software anomalies optional
- optional, not held web application security threats optional
- optional, not held computer programming optional
- still to learn implement corporate governance required
- still to learn communicate with stakeholders required
- still to learn educate on data confidentiality required
- still to learn engage with stakeholders required
- still to learn ensure cross-department cooperation required
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
- still to learn develop information security strategy required
- still to learn ensure information privacy required
- still to learn establish an Information Security Management System required
- still to learn comply with legal regulations required
- still to learn ensure compliance with legal requirements required
- optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
- still to learn ICT safety required
- still to learn implement ICT security policies required
- still to learn manage system security required
- still to learn utilise decision support system required
- optional, not held implement a firewall optional
- optional, not held implement a virtual private network optional
- optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
- optional, not held manage keys for data protection optional
- optional, not held optimise choice of ICT solution optional
- still to learn establish an ICT security prevention plan required
- still to learn lead disaster recovery exercises required
- still to learn maintain plan for continuity of operations required
- still to learn manage disaster recovery plans required
- optional, not held assess ICT knowledge optional
- optional, not held coordinate technological activities optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- still to learn advice on security risk management required
- still to learn implement ICT risk management required
- still to learn forecast organisational risks required
- still to learn monitor developments in field of expertise required
- optional, not held implement cloud security and compliance optional
- optional, not held conduct impact evaluation of ICT processes on business optional
6 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a chief ICT security officer role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 establish an ICT security prevention plan practise this
- 02 ICT project management methodologies study this
- 03 ICT safety practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 18 skills that carry over
- already held ICT network security risks knowledge
- already held ICT process quality models knowledge
- already held ICT project management knowledge
- already held ICT security legislation knowledge
- already held ICT security standards knowledge
- already held audit techniques knowledge
- already held cyber security knowledge
- already held ensure adherence to organisational ICT standards skill
- already held identify ICT security risks skill
- already held information security strategy knowledge
- already held manage IT security compliances skill
- already held monitor technology trends skill
- already held organisational resilience knowledge
- already held World Wide Web Consortium standards knowledge
- already held cloud technologies knowledge
- already held execute ICT audits skill
- already held identify legal requirements skill
- already held protect personal data and privacy skill
The 6 learning areas not shown above
- still to learn ICT project management methodologies required
- still to learn internal risk management policy required
- still to learn risk management required
- still to learn security engineering required
- optional, not held ICT communications protocols optional
- optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
- still to learn ethics required
- still to learn cyber attack counter-measures required
- optional, not held manage digital identity optional
- optional, not held control objectives for information and related technology optional
29 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held apply operations for an ITIL-based environment optional
- optional, not held control objectives for information and related technology optional
- optional, not held ICT communications protocols optional
- optional, not held ICT encryption optional
- optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
- optional, not held ICT recovery techniques optional
- optional, not held ICT system user requirements optional
- optional, not held Internet of Things optional
- optional, not held assess ICT knowledge optional
- optional, not held cloud monitoring and reporting optional
- optional, not held cloud security and compliance optional
- optional, not held computer forensics optional
- optional, not held coordinate technological activities optional
- optional, not held implement a firewall optional
- optional, not held implement a virtual private network optional
- optional, not held implement anti-virus software optional
- optional, not held implement cloud security and compliance optional
- optional, not held internet governance optional
- optional, not held manage keys for data protection optional
- optional, not held optimise choice of ICT solution optional
- optional, not held software anomalies optional
- optional, not held web application security threats optional
- optional, not held computer programming optional
- optional, not held conduct impact evaluation of ICT processes on business optional
- optional, not held create solutions to problems optional
- optional, not held manage digital identity optional
- optional, not held manage staff optional
- optional, not held train employees optional
- optional, not held use different communication channels optional
19 held skills the chief ICT security officer role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role ICT accessibility standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role ICT quality policy knowledge
- not needed by the target role analyse ICT system skill
- not needed by the target role apply information security policies skill
- not needed by the target role communicate analytical insights skill
- not needed by the target role define organisational standards skill
- not needed by the target role develop ICT workflow skill
- not needed by the target role develop audit plan skill
- not needed by the target role develop documentation in accordance with legal requirements skill
- not needed by the target role engineering processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role improve business processes skill
- not needed by the target role inform on workplace safety standards skill
- not needed by the target role legal requirements of ICT products knowledge
- not needed by the target role perform ICT security testing skill
- not needed by the target role perform quality audits skill
- not needed by the target role prepare financial auditing reports skill
- not needed by the target role product life-cycle knowledge
- not needed by the target role quality standards knowledge
- not needed by the target role systems development life-cycle knowledge
26 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn ICT project management methodologies required
- still to learn attack vectors required
- still to learn cyber attack counter-measures required
- still to learn data protection required
- still to learn decision support systems required
- still to learn ethical hacking principles required
- still to learn information confidentiality required
- still to learn internal risk management policy required
- still to learn assessment of risks and threats required
- still to learn ethics required
- still to learn risk management required
- still to learn security engineering required
- optional, not held control objectives for information and related technology optional
- optional, not held ICT communications protocols optional
- optional, not held ICT encryption optional
- optional, not held ICT infrastructure optional
- optional, not held ICT recovery techniques optional
- optional, not held ICT system user requirements optional
- optional, not held Internet of Things optional
- optional, not held cloud monitoring and reporting optional
- optional, not held cloud security and compliance optional
- optional, not held computer forensics optional
- optional, not held internet governance optional
- optional, not held software anomalies optional
- optional, not held web application security threats optional
- optional, not held computer programming optional
Common questions about this move
Can an IT auditor become a chief ICT security officer?
Yes, and it is a career change move. An IT auditor already covers 25% of what a chief ICT security officer is expected to do: 18 skills carry over, 13 of which the chief ICT security officer role treats as required.
What skills does an IT auditor need to become a chief ICT security officer?
34 required skills are missing, plus 29 optional ones. They fall into 12 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by information and communication technologies (icts). The single most important is establish an ICT security prevention plan.
How hard is the move from IT auditor to chief ICT security officer?
Its learning distance is 83.6 out of 100, which is the career change band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.