As businesses increasingly depend on data and cutting-edge technology to propel growth, the role of the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) has become an increasingly crucial role. CISOs are key in promoting a security-first approach within their organizations and beyond, influencing their industries and shaping government policies and legislation.

Modern CISOs are tasked with navigating a host of complex challenges. They must possess a thorough understanding of their organization's evolving threat landscape while managing the delicate balance between mitigating business risks and seizing opportunities. Amidst a significant talent shortage, they need to attract and retain top cybersecurity talent while also keeping their teams focused and motivated on high-impact projects. With information security being a high priority for board members and investors, CISOs are often tasked with achieving more with fewer resources.

To honor these leaders, we are spotlighting 50 distinguished CISOs who are advancing stronger information security practices. The selection criteria for these CISOs included their professional achievements and level of industry experience, along with:

• Demonstrated leadership: These CISOs are dedicated to sharing their knowledge and expertise.
• A forward-thinking mindset: Successful CISOs are proactive, continually anticipating future challenges and devising ways to fortify organizations against them.
• Level of influence: Whether advising senior government officials, engaging thousands of followers, or shaping new legislation, these CISOs serve as global advocates for enhanced information security.

50 top CISOs and cybersecurity leaders to know

• Dmitri Alperovitch is a cybersecurity thought leader, podcast host, and the bestselling author of World on the Brink. He is currently the Executive Chairman at Silverado Policy Accelerator, host of the Geopolitics Decanted podcast, and Board Member at Automax, Dragos, Inc., Cyber Safety Review Board, Homeland Security Advisory Council, National Security Institute - George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School, and The Cipher Brief. 
• Darren Argyle FCIIS is currently the Group Chief Information Security Risk Officer at Standard Chartered Bank, and the former Group Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Qantas Airlines, Group CISO at IHS Markit, and has held various senior international cybersecurity leadership roles at Symantec and IBM. Argyle was awarded “Outstanding Cyber Security Professional” by the Cyber OSPAs, the CSO30 ASEAN Award, and “Innovator of the Year” by SANS Institute in 2022. 
• Bret Arsenault is the Corporate Vice President and Chief Cybersecurity Advisor at Microsoft, where he’s spent nearly 35 years as an information security leader. In his current role, he acts as a key advisor to senior and security leadership teams across engineering, products, risk, and resiliency. 
• Gerald Auger, PhD is the Chief Content Creator at Simply Cyber,  which boasts over 4 million views on YouTube. He is also an Adjunct Professor at The Citadel, Conference Director for Simply Cyber Con, Managing Partner at Coastal Information Security Group, and Advisory Board Member at Panoptcy Security. 
• Jessica Barker, MBE, PhD, is a bestselling author, international keynote speaker, and cybersecurity thought leader. She is Co-founder and Co-CEO at Cygenta. 
• Jerich Beason is a cybersecurity podcast host, keynote speaker, board advisor, and instructor who is currently serving as Chief Information Security Officer at WM.
• Charlie Bell is Executive Vice President leading the Security, Compliance, Identity, and Management organization at Microsoft. He is a former Senior Vice President at Amazon Web Services, where he spent over 20 years growing the AWS business and leading general management of AWS services. 
• Chuck Brooks is the President of Brooks Consulting International and an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. As a thought leader, author, and speaker, Brooks has spoken before the G20, US Embassy to the Holy See and Vatican, and USTRANSCOM as well as served on two National Academy of Science Advisory groups and an industry/government working group for CISA. Brooks has also received presidential appointments for executive service by two U.S. Presidents. 
• Kip Boyle is a cybersecurity expert, host of the Your Cyber Path Podcast and Cyber Risk Management podcasts, and a course instructor at Udemy. As Fractional Chief Information Security Officer at Cyber Risk Opportunities LLC, Boyle provides cyber risk expertise to companies including the US Federal Reserve Bank, Boeing, Visa, Intuit, Mitsubishi, and DuPont. 
• Naomi Buckwalter is an information security leader and the Founder and Executive Director of Cybersecurity Gatebreakers Foundation, which is committed to breaking down barriers of entry and solving the cybersecurity labor shortage. In addition, Buckwalter is also the Sr. Director of Product Security at Contrast Security. 
• Bob Carver, CISM, CISSP, MS is a Principal Cybersecurity Threat Intelligence and Analytics at Verizon with over 25 years of experience in information security, specializing in threat hunting. He also serves on the Advisory Board of LexisNexis Fraud Defense Network and has served on the Advisory Board at Mastercard - Masters Collective. 
• Dr. Magda Chelly is a published author, TEDx speaker, and globally recognized cybersecurity leader, recently recognized as a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional in Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Security. Chelly is the co-founder of RiskImmune, Chief Information Security Officer at Responsible Cyber Pte. Ltd., Advisory Board Member at Black Hat, and Sessional Lecturer, Cybersecurity at James Cook University. 
• Anton Chuvakin is the Security Advisor at Office of the CISO, Google Cloud and the co-host of Cloud Security Podcast. Formerly a Research VP and Distinguished Analyst at Gartner for Technical Professionals, Security and Risk Management Strategies, he is also the author of Security Warrior, PCI Compliance, Logging and Log Management, and the securitywarrior.org blog as well as a contributor to the books Know Your Enemy II and Information Security Management Handbook. 
• Graham Cluley is an award-winning cybersecurity speaker, writer, analyst, and host of the “Smashing Security” podcast, which has over nine million downloads. 
• Steve Cobb is Chief Information Security Officer at SecurityScorecard. With decades of experience leading IT infrastructure, cybersecurity, incident response, and threat intelligence, Cobb was formerly Chief Information Security Officer at One Source Communications and a senior engineer at Microsoft and Verizon Enterprise Solutions. 
• Edna Conway is a top information security voice, author, executive advisor, board director, and cloud technology executive. She is a Sr. Nonresident Fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Advisor at Getz Executive Network, and a board member at Critical Start, Red Queen Dynamics, Inc., NightDragon, Interos Inc., Attabotics Inc., Active Cypher, Long Ridge Equity Partners, YL Ventures, DUST Identity, InfoSec Global, EMC Advisors, and SecurityScorecard. 
• Sam Curry is Global VP and CISO in Residence at Scaler, as well as a Board Member at Cybersecurity Coalition and CyberTrust Massachusetts and a Fellow at the National Security Institute. With experience at RSA, Arbor Networks, McAfee, and Cybereason, he is also currently serving as an adjunct professor at Nichols College. 
• Rik Ferguson is the VP of Security Intelligence at Forescout Technologies and the Co-Founder of Respect in Security. He is also a Fellow at the RSA, Special Advisor at Europol, and Advisory Board Member at Vaulter. 
• Christophe Foulon, CISSP, GSLC, MSIT is a seasoned vCISO and cybersecurity leader, currently serving as Fractional CISO at Nexigen and Executive Cybersecurity Advisor at CPF Coaching. Foulon was formerly a Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at Capital One and Cybersecurity Adjunct Professor at Bellevue University. 
• Jane Frankland is an award-winning author, speaker, coach, advisor, and cybersecurity influencer. She currently serves as an Advisory Board Member Executive Summit at Black Hat, Founder of The Source Platform (for Women in Cyber), Founder of IN Security Movement, StrategicAdvisor for e2e-assure, and Owner and CEO at KnewStart. 
• Mari Galloway, MSIS, CISSP, is an Advisor at BestLink Strategies, LLC, bestselling author, and founding board member of the Women’s Society of Cyberjutsu.
• Carlos Gonzalez is the Chief Information Officer at Epiq. Former President at CEG Tecnology LLC and VP/CIO of Information Services at Mt. Sinai South Nassau Hospital, he’s built secure and scalable operations for healthcare, legal, and financial companies. 
• John Hammond is a cybersecurity researcher, educator, speaker, and content creator with over 1.5 million subscribers. He is currently part of the Threat Operations team at Huntress. 
• Tia (Yatia) Hopkins is Chief Cyber Resilience Officer at eSentire, guest lecturer at The Wharton School, and Adjust Professor and Course Author - MS in Cybersecurity at Katz School at Yeshiva University. Hopkins is recognized as The Cyber Equalizer™, a global award-winning cyber exec, best-selling author, and keynote speaker. 
• Troy Hunt is Founder and CEO of Have I Been Pwned, an organization that helps individuals assess their exposure in major data breaches. He is also an Information Security Author & Instructor at Pluralsight, Partner at Report URI, and Director at Superlative Enterprises, where he conducts professional speaking, training, and writing engagements. 
• Diane M. Janosek, PhD, JD, CISSP, LPEC, is an award-winning cybersecurity leader, attorney, author, and speaker. Currently CEO at Janos LLC Practices and former member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service. Janosek also served as the National Security Agency’s Deputy Chief of Compliance. 
• Zinet Kemal is a noted cloud security engineer, TedX Speaker, and author who’s been recognized as a Top 25 Cybersecurity Leader, Most Inspiring Woman in Cyber, and 40 Under 40. She is the founder of ZNET LLC and an experienced cloud security engineer for Fortune 500 companies. 
• Brian Krebs is an investigative reporter focused on internet security and cybercrime. A former reporter for the Washington Post for 15 years, Krebs is also the author of Spam Nation: The Inside Story of Organized Cybercrime, from Global Epidemic to Your Front Door and a reporter and publisher at KrebsOnSecurity.com. 
• Dan Lohrmann is a cybersecurity leader, advisor, mentor, blogger, and keynote speaker who has been named SC Magazine CSO of the Year, Governing Magazine Public Official of the Year, Computerworld Premier 100 Leader, and 2023 Top 30 People to Follow on Cyber. Lohrmann has advised leaders at the White House, National Governor’s Association, National Association of State CIOs, US Department of Homeland Security, and many other federal, state, and local government agencies as well as Fortune 500 companies. He is currently the Field Chief Information Security Officer leading public sector advisory at Presidio. 
• Mark Lynd is a globally recognized thought leader, C-suite strategist, author, and keynote speaker on cybersecurity and AI. He is currently the Head of Executive Advisory & Corporate Strategy - CISSP, ISSAP &ISSMP at NETSYNC and has received several awards and recognitions for his leadership in cybersecurity. 
• Mic Merritt is the Founder of Merritt Based, a cybersecurity firm specializing in Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning systems and web/mobile application penetration testing. Merritt is also a Cybersecurity Instructor at Western Governors University
• Daniel Miessler is the Founder of Unsupervised Learning and an Advisor at ProjectDiscovery, JupiterOne, and AKA Identity. Formerly the Head of Vulnerability Management at Robinhood, Miessler is an expert in AI and security infrastructure. 
• Alyssa Miller is an author, international speaker, and experienced security executive. Formerly the Business Information Security Officer at S&P Global Ratings, Miller is currently CISO at Epiq Global and a member of the Technology Advisory Board at Epiphany Solution Group.
• Charlie Miller is a Distinguished Security Engineer, Autonomous Vehicle Security at Cruise. A former hacker for the National Security Agency, Miller has previously worked as a consultant and as a Staff Security Engineer at Twitter. 
• Angelique “Q” Napoleon is Cybersecurity Director, Division Deputy CISO & Cyber Capability Lead at General Dynamics Information Technology and a former Principle Cybersecurity Subject Matter Expert at the US Department of Defense.
• Henrik Parkkinen is Information Security Officer at WirelessCar and a subject matter expert at ISACA. Parkkinen is recognized as a top cybersecurity voice and a 40 Under 40 in Cybersecurity. 
• Chris Roberts is a cybersecurity strategist, researcher, and advisor who is currently Chief Strategist at Nuspire, CISO Advisory Board Member at Onyx Cyber, and Founding Board Member at Security Tinkerers. He also co-hosts the podcast WTF Did I Just Read. 
• Matthew Rosenquist is a cybersecurity leader, speaker, and advisory board member with over 190k LinkedIn followers. He is currently CISO and Cybersecurity Strategist at Mercury Risk and Compliance, Inc., as well as a Board Member at The Futurum Group, Dominican University of California, United Cybersecurity Alliance, World Business Angels Investment Forum, Private Directors Association, and the University of Phoenix, College of Business and Information Technology, among others. He was formerly Cybersecurity Strategist for the Artificial Intelligence group and Cybersecurity Strategist and Evangelist at Intel.
• Shira Rubinoff is a cybersecurity executive, advisor, keynote speaker, and author who serves on the Boards of Pace University Cybersecurity Program, The Executive Women’s Forum for Information Security, Leading Women in Technology, and others. Her verified YouTube channel has over 172k subscribers, and she has been named a Woman of Influence by CSO Magazine, the “One to Watch” award by CSO and the EWF, and the “Outstanding Woman in Infosec” by the CyberHub Summit. She is currently President - Cybersphere at The Futurum Group. 
• Caitlin Sarian is the Founder and Executive Director at Cybersecurity Girl LLC and former Global Lead of Cybersecurity Advocacy and Culture at TikTok.
• Rinki Sethi is VP and CISO at BILL and a Former VP & CISO at Twitter, with experience developing online security infrastructure for companies including IBM, PG&E, Walmart.com, eBay, Intuit Inc., and Palo Alto Networks. She has been recognized by CSO Magazine and SC Magazine as a top information security leader. 
• Richard Stiennon is a research analyst and author of the Security Yearbook series. He is Chief Research Analyst at IT-Harvest and a Board Member at sāf.ai, Inc., Quick Heal, Anitian, and Phosphoroous Cybersecurity Inc. 
• Dean Sysman is CEO/Co-founder at Axonius, a cybersecurity asset management system. As a leading cybersecurity expert, Sysman has spoken at major conferences including Black Hat, Defcon, CCC, and more. 
• Eric Vanderburg is a noted cybersecurity author and consultant. He is currently Vice President, Cybersecurity at TCDI, where he leads the cybersecurity consulting division. 
• Fabian Weber is a vCISO and Head of Compliance at PCG, where he lends his expertise to helping startups and SMBs achieve ISO 27001, SOC 2, and TISAX compliance. He is also CEO & Founder of WHYSEC and a Managing Partner at water IT Security & Defense. 
• Tyler Cohen Wood, CISSP is a cybersecurity expert, author, and influencer who previously worked at the US Defense Intelligence Agency under the Department of Defense serving as Senior Intelligence Officer, Deputy Cyber Division Chief of the Special Communications Division. Tyler is currently co-founder of Dark Cryptonite and an on-air host at ITSPmagazine Podcasts. 
• Burcu Yarar is Application Security Team Lead at VakifBank, Pentester/Bug Hunter at HackerOne, and Co-Founder at UNIQUESEC, a non-profit organization that brings together cybersecurity professionals in Turkey. 
• Heide Young is ranked among the top 10 technology leaders in the Middle East. She is a Cybersecurity Woman of the World finalist 2023, cybersecurity strategist and author, and founding partner of Women in Cyber Security Middle East. 
• Helen Yu is Founder & CEO at Tigon Advisory Corp and host of CXO Spice. She’s recognized as a Top 50 Women in Tech and an expert in AI and cybersecurity. She is also Co-Founder and Board Director of Dark Cryptonite, as well as a member of the Board of Directors at Communications Engineering Company (CEC), KEENFOLKS, and Vera Capital LP. 
• Bob Fabien “BZ” Zinga, CISSP-ISSMP, PMP, MS, MBA is an award-winning cyber executive, CISO, advisor, author, and speaker, recognized as a C|CISO Hall of Fame 2023 Winner by EC-Council. He currently serves at the Information Warfare Commander (CDR/CEO/CISO/CIO/CTO, DoD TS/SCI) at the US Navy Reserve, as well as BCBR AAC Advisor & Co-Chair of The Communications and Technology Committee, Executive Board Advisor at United Cybersecurity Alliance, and Board Director at AZ Cyber Initiative.

Shaping tomorrow's cybersecurity landscape

Looking ahead, CISOs remain vital to safeguarding our organizations, data, and systems. By adopting innovative technologies, methodologies, and concepts, these 50 CISOs and cybersecurity experts are at the forefront of propelling the industry forward and enhancing the security of our digital world.