After 10 Years, a CISO's Role Evolves

In 10 years as a security compliance officer, Christopher Paidhrin has seen his role broaden as data security has become an even higher priority at Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver, Wash. Today, Paidhrin is more involved in policy development. He's also pushing to improve awareness of the policies in every sector of the hospital. "A policy does no good if it sits in a folder and no one reads it," he says. And he now advises area physician group practices on data security issues. In an interview, Paidhrin, who serves as the equivalent of a chief information security officer, singles out his top three priorities for 2010, including: Strengthening data loss prevention capabilities; Aligning IT goals with strategic goals; and Ramping up data security training. He also describes his hospital's annual risk analysis process, which is supplemented by a consultant's audit every three years "to make sure we're not deceiving ourselves."