Skip to main Communities My dashboard Log in Sign up Published April 16, 2026 | Version v1 Journal Open Becoming the Face of the Crisis: A Phenomenological Study of Chief Information Security Officers' Leadership from Breach Detection to Public Disclosure Authors/Creators IJCSIS (Editor) Description Abstract—Cybersecurity leadership research emphasizes technical metrics, yet the personal challenges Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) face during significant data breaches remain largely unexplored. This descriptive phenomenological study addresses this gap by examining the lived experiences of 16 CISOs as they navigate breach detection, public disclosure, and early recovery. Through in-depth interviews, five essential themes emerged: profound identity transformation from technical experts to organizational "sense-makers" and "governance pivots"; visceral experience of the "information void" under extreme uncertainty; management of conflicting legal, technical, and reputational imperatives through satisficing rather than optimization; ethical decision-making under conditions designed to compromise integrity; and significant psychological strain functioning as "silent destroyers" of effectiveness. Findings reveal that breach response is fundamentally a multifaceted leadership challenge, requiring ethical stewardship, psychological resilience, and capabilities that extend far beyond technical security expertise. This study establishes the phenomenological foundations for understanding cybersecurity crisis leadership, providing actionable implications for organizational support systems, board education, and regulatory policy. Index Terms—Information Security Governance, Data Breach Response, Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Descriptive Phenomenology, Psychological Resilience, Satisficing, Crisis Leadership, Data Security and Governance Files 01012602 IJCSIS Camera Ready FINAL.pdf Files (2.1 MB) Name Size Download all 01012602 IJCSIS Camera Ready FINAL.pdf md5:06f6617eda349376dfdde46a007a8519 2.1 MB Preview Download Additional details Identifiers ISSN 1947-5500 Dates Accepted 2026-01-31 36 Views 27 Downloads Show more details All versions This version Views Total views 36 36 Downloads Total downloads 27 27 Data volume Total data volume 60.2 MB 60.2 MB More info on how stats are collected.... Versions External resources Indexed in OpenAIRE Communities Details DOI DOI Badge DOI 10.5281/zenodo.19604357 Markdown [](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19604357) reStructuredText .. image:: https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19604357.svg :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19604357 HTML <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19604357"><img src="https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19604357.svg" alt="DOI"></a> Image URL https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.19604357.svg Target URL https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19604357 Resource type Journal Publisher Zenodo Published in International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security (IJCSIS), Vol. 24, No. 1, January-February 2026, 24(1), ISSN: 1947-5500, 2026. Rights License Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International The Creative Commons Attribution license allows re-distribution and re-use of a licensed work on the condition that the creator is appropriately credited. Read more Citation Export Technical metadata Created April 16, 2026 Modified April 16, 2026 Jump up About About Policies Infrastructure Principles Projects Roadmap Contact Blog Blog Support Help FAQ Developers REST API OAI-PMH Contribute GitHub Donate Funded by Powered by CERN Data Centre & InvenioRDM Status Privacy policy Cookie policy Terms of Use This site uses cookies. Find out more on how we use cookies Accept all cookies Accept only essential cookies