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The differences between information security directors and information security officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an information security director and an information security officer. Additionally, an information security director has an average salary of $141,813, which is higher than the $135,040 average annual salary of an information security officer.
The top three skills for an information security director include cloud security, risk management and incident response. The most important skills for an information security officer are risk management, risk assessments, and incident response.
| Information Security Director | Information Security Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $141,813 | $135,040 |
| Hourly rate | $68.18 | $64.92 |
| Growth rate | 32% | 32% |
| Number of jobs | 109,450 | 145,907 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An information security director is an executive professional who is responsible for implementing, designing, managing, and allocating all the security measures using technology in an organization. Information security directors are required to observe security vulnerabilities and threats as well as develop strategies to handle security incidents. They must participate in the deployment of security technologies and implement security policies and procedures. Information security directors must also implement education programs on user awareness and security compliance.
Information security officers are responsible for planning and implementing policies to safeguard an organization's computer network and data from different types of security breaches. Their duties typically include identifying computer network vulnerabilities, developing and executing a plan to secure and protect the network, and tracking computer network usage to ensure adherence to security policies. In addition, information security officers are also expected to conduct penetration tests to look for flaws and work closely with the IT and management departments to improve security.
Information security directors and information security officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Information Security Director | Information Security Officer | |
| Average salary | $141,813 | $135,040 |
| Salary range | Between $99,000 And $201,000 | Between $95,000 And $190,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Chegg | Twilio |
| Best paying industry | Real Estate | Professional |
There are a few differences between an information security director and an information security officer in terms of educational background:
| Information Security Director | Information Security Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 65% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between information security directors' and information security officers' demographics:
| Information Security Director | Information Security Officer | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.1% Female, 12.9% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 9.6% White, 65.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |