A new survey of 650 global CISOs finds 95 percent rank AI-driven threats as a top risk. However, they’re also leveraging AI as a force multiplier, moving beyond defense to drive results.
The study from Splunk shows 92 percent of CISOs say that improving threat detection and response capabilities is a top priority, followed by strengthening identity and access management (78 percent), and investing in AI cybersecurity capabilities (68 percent).
“CISOs operate in the eye of the storm, at the center of constant transformation. Role responsibilities expand, threats evolve, and AI accelerates everything,” says Michael Fanning, CISO of Splunk. “This expanded mandate brings an exceptional level of pressure and personal accountability. We are not just managing technology. We are managing risk, talent, and the digital resilience that drives critical business outcomes.”
But while approaching AI with cautious optimism, 86 percent fear that agentic AI will increase the sophistication of social engineering attacks, and 82 percent worry it will increase deployment speed and complexity of persistence mechanisms. Ultimately, AI is seen as essential for combating advanced threats and delivering significant business advantages.
Nearly four out of five CISO say their role has become significantly more complex. More than three quarters are now worried about personal liability for security incidents, a sharp jump from last year, when just over half expressed similar fears.
The report also highlights a significant challenge in workforce retention, with nearly two-thirds of security teams experiencing moderate to significant burnout. Leading causes of stress include, high alert volumes (98 percent), false alerts (94 percent) and tool fatigue (79 percent).
To address these issues, CISOs are consolidating security data into a single view and using data-driven narratives to translate technical nuances into clear business imperatives for non-technical leadership. However, challenges to improving cross-departmental data sharing persist, these include, data privacy concerns (91 percent), high storage costs (76 percent) and lack of shared data views (70 percent).
The full report is available from the Splunk site.
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