Salaries for chief security officers vary dramatically among industries, with those in financial services receiving the best compensation packages. Those were some of the findings from Giga Information Group's latest research, which indicates that CSOs fare better when they report to a C-level exec other than to the CIO.

According to the research, CSOs in financial services who report directly to the CIO make between $125,000 and $270,000; those reporting to CFOs, chief operating officers, and other execs can earn up to $400,000, as well as a 15% to 25% bonus.

CSOs in telecom, utilities, and manufacturing who commonly report to execs two levels below the CIO make $70,000 to $90,000, plus a 15% bonus, the report showed.

Security spending can range from 2% to 20% of companies' total IT budgets, according to Giga. Increasingly, security spending is directed toward personnel--during the past year, companies spent a greater portion of their budgets on chief security officers than they had previously.