Corporate security is more of a strategic issue than a technological battle, and chief security officers should be treated as trusted experts by boards, delegates at the Compsec 2003 were told last week.

Outsourcing, email management and financial or regulatory pressures such as Basel II in Europe and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the US have driven this approach, the security conference heard.

"The chief security officer should now be positioned as a trusted advisor to the business, moving away from operational delivery towards understanding and managing risk," said Phillip Gregory, head of UK security at financal services firm Norwich Union.

Security is less about technology and more about establishing consistency in the processes and procedures that the technology supports, he added.

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