Ability to manage many important projects simultaneously |
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| 08 Sep 2005 | Information Shield |
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The information security manager must be an excellent
project manager, and must be familiar with modern
project management tools and techniques. Many
information security projects are complex, have a long
time horizon and depend on the participation of a wide
variety of people. The successful manager must be able
to delegate work to, and later manage, people outside an
information security group (these people will typically
include consultants and contractors). In an increasing
majority of cases, the pressing information security
projects that most organizations need to complete
simply cannot be accomplished with the limited
information security staff on hand. At the same time, the
manager must stay on top of these projects, paying
attention to details and making sure that progress
proceeds as top management intended. The successful manager must also be able to put together organization-
wide status reports that clearly show trends,
problems and areas in need of top management
intervention. Separately, the information security
manager often has a dotted-line reporting relationship
with a variety of staff that have information security
related jobs (systems developers, systems administrators,
etc.). The manager is thus indirectly responsible for
obtaining results, but often not in a position where he or
she can force compliance with information security
requirements. To get results in this environment, the
manager must be a both a diplomat and a politician. An
information security manager must thus be a team
player, a team builder and a team leader.
INFORMATION SECURITY MANAGER QUALIFICATIONS
 Introduction
Excellent communication skills
Good relationship management skills
Ability to manage many important projects simultaneously
Ability to resolve conflicts between security and business objectives
Ability to see the big picture
Basic familiarity with information security technology
Real world hands-on experience
Commitment to staying on top of the technology
Honesty and high-integrity character
Familiarity with information security management
Tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty
Demonstrated good judgement
Ability to work independently
A certain amount of polish
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Information Security Roles and Responsibilities Made Easy, Version 2
By Charles Cresson Wood
278 pages; $495
Published by Information Shield
Download Appendix B, Personal Qualifications
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