When security vendor Portnox reported in a survey that 77% of CISOs say they are either very or extremely worried about losing their job when the next big breach happens, it raised questions about how CISOs should perceive their value in the C-suite. Will they be punished for issues beyond their control? What should happen if a breach can be linked to a budget request the CFO rejected?

Will Townsend, VP and principal analyst at Moor Insights and Strategy, said the survey result encapsulates how most CISOs feel, and whether the enterprise will ultimately fire them in the wake of the next breach is arguably a secondary concern. As long as the CISO worries about inevitable termination, it’s going to color the CISO’s behavior. Is a gun-shy, hesitant CISO what the enterprise is trying to create?

Enterprises “are going to be breached, sooner or later. An organization will hire a CISO because it is the one-throat-to-choke belief,” Townsend said. “It’s been documented that the buck stops with the CISO, which means that they are likely at risk of losing their job” when a major breach occurs.