Today’s Chief Security Officers are navigating a complex risk landscape, from activism and insider threats to geopolitical volatility and executive threats. The Annual CSO Survey 2025, produced by The Clarity Factory and sponsored by Ontic, found that 77% of CSOs say their effectiveness is undermined by silos and fragmented data, one of many insights from this first-of-its-kind global study.
Rachel Briggs, OBE, CEO of The Clarity Factory, sat down with us to discuss this upcoming webinar exploring the findings. To learn more about the webinar, sponsored by Ontic, on 29 October or to register, go here.
Q: How did you become interested in corporate security trends?
A: I’ve been working in and around the corporate security world for 25 years in different guises. I’m passionate about bringing great data to security leaders, whose roles get more important all the time given global trends. I believe that great data makes great security programs, which keep our organizations and their people safe and resilient.
Q: What advice would you give security professionals interested in corporate security trends?
A: It’s often hard for very busy security professionals to take time out from their job to find data and think about what it means for security today, let alone what it means for the future. The pressure on security professionals has never been greater than it is today. There is also much more data available, making it hard to know what to trust and where to spend your limited, precious time.
I would advise security professionals to identify 5-6 critical data sources on relevant trends for them and their business, subscribe to their data, and make time once a month to read, assess, and process.
I hope security professionals will find our Annual CSO Survey a critical friend - a one-stop-shop for data on leadership, management, talent, technology, and challenges. We’ve brought it together annually to help security professionals focus their time.
Q: Why should security professionals have corporate security trends on their radar?
A: Things are changing so fast right now. Not only is the global threat environment volatile and fast-paced, but changes within corporations are significant: changing working patterns, digitalization, and the adoption of AI, to name just three critical trends.
Security professionals not only need to stay up to date with threat trends - they need to have their finger on the pulse of corporate life so they can tailor their products, services, and value offering to the company’s specific needs.
Rachel Briggs, OBE is CEO of The Clarity Factory, which produces research, thought leadership and consultancy on corporate security and cyber security. She’s advised dozens of multinational corporations, provides benchmarking services, and regularly briefs security leadership teams.
She is author of The Business Value of Corporate Security: Sustainable commercial success through resilience, insight, and crisis leadership in a volatile world, Holistic Security: How physical and cyber security teams can join forces to strengthen operational resilience and co-author of The Business of Resilience.
