EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

We’ve all had jobs where we’ve been frustrated by those we work with not taking our expert advice. And, we’ve all had jobs where we’ve been frustrated by those who report to us not doing as we wish (Editor’s note: Or at least that’s what I’ve heard). For Facebook’s outgoing CISO, it sounds like it has been all of that and more. But regardless, it appears this CISO was striving to do what CISOs are meant to do: Protect their organizations–and their customers–from digital harm.

While Facebook is in the midst of a firestorm over its lack of attention to how users’ data has been used and misused, the company’s CISO, Alex Stamos, is planning his departure. According to the New York Times, he is known for not holding back on asserting what he believes needs to be done, often pushing people out of their comfort zones regarding security issues. “He once challenged the National Security Agency director to his face, sparred with the media on Twitter and took his former bosses at Yahoo — and more recently at Facebook — to task over security issues,” reports the New York Times. 

The reported tension between Stamos and others at Facebook relates to disagreement over how disciplined the company needs to be regarding cybersecurity. The New York Times writes, “In audio leaked in October to ZDNet, a tech news site, he (Stamos) told his security team that he explained to management ‘that we have the threat profile of a Northrop Grumman or a Raytheon or another defense contractor, but we run our corporate network, for example, like a college campus, almost.’”

A CISO’s job is never done.

Get the full story at the New York Times.