Who Actually Owns Risk? (It’s Not the CISO)
Third Party Podcast: Why “Shared Responsibility” is a Corporate Myth
The Risk No One Wants to Own
In the aftermath of a major data breach, the post-mortem follows a predictable script. The CEO calls a high-stakes meeting, the board demands answers, and the "Great Blame Game" begins. Everyone points to the CISO, the CISO points to the budget, and the business units point to the vendor.
In cybersecurity, accountability often has more fingerprints than a crime scene. We have spent years hiding behind the comfortable mantra that "security is everyone's job," but we’ve neglected the cold, hard reality of the corollary: When everyone owns a problem, nobody owns the problem.
In the latest episode of Third Party, hosts Jeffrey Wheatman, Bob Maley, and Ferhat Dikbiyik dig into the crisis of accountability to address the uncomfortable reality of who actually sits in the hot seat when a breach occurs. This isn't a theoretical exercise; it’s a necessary look at why ownership is still fragmented, how to fix it, and why the current "blame game" culture is failing the industry.
The CISO Provides the Map, Not the Liability
One of the most dangerous misconceptions in modern business is that the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) "owns" cyber risk. In reality, a CISO who "owns" the risk is a CISO waiting to be fired for someone else’s decision.
The CISO’s actual role is that of a translator and a navigator. They identify the exposure, interpret the technical jargon into business impact, and present options. However, if a business unit leader decides to onboard a high-risk vendor to hit a quarterly target or bypasses a security control to save on overhead, that is a business decision.
If you are the one with the authority to spend the money or accept the revenue, you are the one who owns the risk. The CISO provides the map; the business leader drives the car.
Taxonomy of a Crisis: Accountability vs. Responsibility
The "Blame Game" thrives in environments where definitions are fuzzy. To build a resilient organization, the taxonomy of ownership must be clear:
- Responsibility: This lies with the people doing the work – the teams patching servers, the developers writing code, or the practitioners vetting third parties.
- Accountability: This belongs to the person who signs the record. Accountability is about the authority to say "yes" or "no" to a risk. In most cases, this should be the business owner or the CFO.
- Ownership: Ultimately, this funnels through the CEO to the Board of Directors.
Risk ownership isn't about who gets blamed; it’s about who is empowered to make the financial trade-offs between security and speed.
The Budget Gap: Running Security on Fumes
The disconnect between stated priority and actual ownership is most visible in the ledger. Recent data from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) reveals a startling trend: over one-third of state CISOs lack a dedicated cybersecurity budget. When a security leader is forced to fight for funding against the department that buys office furniture or light bulbs, the organization has already failed at risk ownership. You cannot hold a leader accountable for securing an enterprise while denying them the autonomy to manage the resources required to do so. In 2026, a lack of a dedicated security budget isn't just a financial oversight; it’s a red flag for the board.
The Future: Regulation as a Catalyst
For years, the industry has hoped that corporate culture would naturally evolve to prioritize cyber resilience. However, human nature and quarterly earnings reports often push in the opposite direction.
This is why regulators are stepping in. Whether it is the SEC’s push for transparency or the evolving liability frameworks for third-party vendors, the era of "plausible deniability" is over. Regulators are beginning to force the clarity that boards have dodged:
- Cyber Risk is Financial Risk: If it impacts the bottom line, the CFO must be involved in the reporting.
- Compliance is Not Security: Checking a box on a SIG questionnaire or a PCI audit does not mean you have managed the risk; it means you have managed the paperwork.
- Transparency is Non-Negotiable: Cybersecurity does not thrive in the shadows. It demands the daylight of documented, informed decision-making.
Transparency is Key: Document and Share Often
The unvarnished truth of Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) is that it isn't a technical problem. It's a governance problem. Moving from a culture of blame to a culture of ownership requires the courage to document risks, the gravitas to escalate them, and the honesty to admit when a risk is being ignored for the sake of profit.
The next time you’re in a meeting and someone says "we all own the risk," ask for the name of the one person who will be answering the phone at 3:00 AM when the breach occurs. That’s your owner.
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Next Time on Third Party
Next Time on Third Party: We answer the question, “Whose breach is it anyway?” We’ll break down the messy world of liability, third parties, and finger-pointing that follows every cyber incident.
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