Dark Reading marks 20 years of CISO influence with 20 leaders

Dark Reading’s 20 Leaders Who Built the CISO Era marks two decades of cybersecurity history, profiling CISOs, researchers, policymakers and other pivotal figures who reshaped enterprise risk. The piece, part of Dark Reading’s 20th anniversary coverage, profiles 20 newsmakers alphabetically and places emphasis on how security has moved from a technical function to boardroom-level risk management.

It highlights pioneers such as Steve Katz and Howard Schmidt, alongside researchers and policymakers including Dan Kaminsky, Barnaby Jack, Katie Moussouris, Troy Hunt, Edward Snowden and Bruce Schneier, noting both their positive impacts and the tougher conversations their actions prompted. The retrospective argues that their work helped align cyber with business outcomes, foster disclosure and collaboration, and push for accountability, ethics and global cooperation in security.

As described by Dark Reading, the collection also underscores how vulnerabilities and threats have driven a broader culture of proactive security across software, devices, cloud and critical infrastructure. According to Dark Reading, the feature serves as a practical road map for modern cyber defence and governance, celebrating two decades of influence while inviting readers to engage with the ongoing evolution of the CISO role.