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CTO vs. CIO vs. CISO: Learn how these roles differ
Explore who oversees what in enterprise IT.
With a few similarly named positions in the C-suite, it can be difficult to distinguish what different roles do in enterprise IT.
Both IT and information security play vital roles in an organization's overall success and stability. So, it's important to understand the differences between the three C-suite roles typically in charge of technology: chief technology officer (CTO), chief information officer (CIO) and chief information security officer (CISO).
Confusion often arises among nontech employees and executives who don't fully understand the different technology roles. In some organizations, tension between IT and security leaders can further complicate communication issues about each role.
Technology leaders need to be accessible and work toward common goals that are in the company's best interests. In particular, when people need IT assistance, they need to know who can help them.
Responsibilities of the CTO vs. CIO vs. CISO
In short, the CTO oversees creating external technical initiatives. The CIO oversees internal tech strategy and execution. And the CISO ensures that the internal and external tech initiatives remain secure.
The following table outlines the key differences in these three roles.
| CTO | CIO | CISO | |
| Focus areas | External technology engineering and innovation | Internal technology engineering, innovation and oversight | Security and governance of external and internal systems |
| Key responsibilities | Leads the creation of customer-facing products and services, including software development and hardware engineering | Leads the creation, implementation and support of internal IT strategies to align with business initiatives, including network and cloud systems and IT personnel | Leads the management of risks and compliance of intellectual property, as well as customer and business partner information, including day-to-day network oversight and ongoing security testing |
| How to measure success |
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In a well-run organization, the CTO, CIO and CISO work together effectively. Their combined efforts create more value than each role could achieve alone. Depending on the products or services provided, all three roles must work closely to ensure the success of the company's overall tech strategy. Without that, competitive differentiation and innovation suffer, potentially introducing unnecessary risks.
Organizations must consider how to measure success from each role's perspective. For example, measuring the value of new technology is important so that company resources are used wisely and allocated properly. These measurements also help reduce the introduction of preventable risks and ethical issues. The last thing an organization needs is to implement a technology that causes more problems than it solves.
Tech implementation as a CTO, CIO and CISO
The first step in understanding the responsibilities of these C-suite roles is to review the role's expectations. It's nuanced, depending on an organization's unique needs.
When determining the core duties for all three roles, consider the following two points:
- What goals should the person in this role try to accomplish for the business?
- What outcomes are company leaders expecting for the organization?
With these considerations in mind, let's look at the example of an AI implementation. The CIO, CTO and CISO each handle an implementation of AI technology differently. There are also situations where the leaders in these roles should work together to solve overlapping issues.
What a CTO does
The chief technical officer is concerned about how AI can help create, oversee or add value to customer product offerings. The person in this role might work with the company's development and engineering teams to decide which large language model (LLM) could integrate into enterprise web applications. The CTO's decisions might focus on selecting the LLM that helps the company differentiate its services from competitors.
What a CIO does
The chief information officer considers how AI can help support company goals and help enhance operational efficiency within IT. The CIO likely considers whether current resources exist to dedicate to upcoming AI-related projects.
The individual in the role also wants to decide what current work to put on the back burner. If the project sponsor determines that there isn't any dedicated resources to support implementation, the CIO might need to reassess the IT budget to allocate necessary funds.
The CIO could also work with HR to find diverse participants within the technical staff to counter unconscious bias and discrimination in an AI implementation.
What a CISO does
The chief information security officer is concerned with the handling of intellectual property and customer information in AI models or outputs. Misuse can occur in both legitimate use cases and through employees' careless training of LLMs.
A core responsibility of the CISO is likely determining whether the organization can address legal and compliance challenges. The person in the role might have the decision-making power to approve the data sets to train LLMs. The CISO might oversee employees with fiduciary duties and assist these employees by supervising the AI systems.
Kevin Beaver is an independent information security consultant, writer and professional speaker with Atlanta-based Principle Logic, LLC. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, Beaver specializes in performing vulnerability and penetration tests, as well as virtual CISO consulting work.
