Even as the position of chief operating officer is disappearing from corporate org charts, near the top of the heap at more than half of corporations with at least 1,000 employees is the CISO, according to a study done in 2013 by research firm Ponemon Institute.

Ten years ago, most employers had never heard the term; now institutions from Neiman Marcus, to beverage company Brown-Forman, to Silicon Valley's FitBit and the University of Chicago are all looking to hire their first CISO.

The job pays well, by all accounts: from mid-high six figures up to seven with all kinds of perks. But hiring managers and recruiters beware: the job comes with lots of finger-pointing and a notoriously short shelf life.

Read the full articles from The New York Times and Fierce CIO.