Time to push data security ownership to business units

As technology marches on, so too do the many threats to your data, which makes the job of the chief information security officer that much harder. One Forrester analyst says, "Software-as-a-service (SaaS), Web 2.0 technologies, and consumerized hardware increase the number of escape routes for sensitive information. Regulations, statutes and contractual expectations drown CISOs in audit requests and ratchet up the pressure to do something about the problem. Hordes of vendors confuse CISOs with innumerable sales pitches."

But is it possible that the security executives are assuming too much responsibility? Forrester suggests as much. It calls for an approach where the CISO pushes more responsibility down to the business units, where ownership really belongs. The top executive's role is to set priorities, best practices, offer guidance and generally own the big-picture view. 

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