Cisco has announced the release of Splunk’s annual security study, The CISO Report: From Risk to Resilience in the AI Era, based on a survey of 650 chief information security officers globally.

The findings point to an expanding remit for security leaders, a strategic but cautious embrace of artificial intelligence, and a continued emphasis on human talent as organisations contend with an increasingly complex threat environment.

AI Drives Opportunity and Risk

According to the report, CISOs are navigating mounting pressures as their responsibilities broaden and threat actors grow more sophisticated.

“CISOs operate in the eye of the storm, at the center of constant transformation. Role responsibilities expand, threats evolve, and AI accelerates everything,” said Michael Fanning, CISO, 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.”

The research positions AI as both a business imperative and a productivity driver for security teams, including the emerging category of agentic AI.

Ninety-five per cent of respondents cited the growing sophistication of threat actor capabilities as their greatest risk. Improving threat detection and response capabilities was identified as a top priority by 92% of CISOs, followed by strengthening identity and access management (78%) and investing in AI cybersecurity capabilities (68%).

AI adoption appears to be reshaping day-to-day operations within security teams. Ninety-two per cent of CISOs said AI enables their teams to review more security events, while 89% reported improved data correlation with AI.

Among those who have partially or fully adopted agentic AI, 39% strongly agree it has increased their teams’ reporting speed by more than double the rate of those who are still exploring the technology, at 18%.

A further 82% believe agentic AI will increase the amount of data reviewed, with the same proportion saying it will increase correlation and response speeds.

However, the survey also reflects unease about the risks AI may introduce. Eighty-six per cent of CISOs fear agentic AI will increase the sophistication of social engineering attacks, and 82% worry it will accelerate the deployment speed and complexity of persistence mechanisms.

Despite these concerns, AI is ultimately viewed as essential for countering advanced threats and delivering tangible business advantages.

Expanding Mandate, Rising Pressure

The report underscores how the CISO role has become more complex, with nearly four out of five respondents stating that their responsibilities have significantly expanded.

More than three quarters now express concern about personal liability for security incidents, a notable increase from the previous year when just over half shared similar fears. Almost all respondents report that their remit now includes AI governance and risk management, and more than four out of five oversee secure software development, or DevSecOps.

Collaboration across leadership teams is also emerging as a key factor in strengthening cybersecurity outcomes. Joint accountability was found to drive the most value for key security initiatives (62%), security budget and funding (55%), and access to security-relevant data (49%). The findings suggest that shared ownership at C-suite level acts as a force multiplier for resilience.

Talent, Burnout and Business Value

Despite rapid advances in AI, CISOs are prioritising human capital to address skills shortages. The report identifies upskilling existing staff, recruiting new full-time employees and engaging contractors as the main strategies for closing gaps. This reflects a belief that human intelligence and creativity remain indispensable, particularly for nuanced activities such as threat hunting.

At the same time, workforce pressures remain acute. Nearly two-thirds of security teams are experiencing moderate to significant burnout. High alert volumes were cited by 98% of respondents as a leading stressor, followed by false alerts (94%) and tool fatigue (79%).

In response, CISOs are consolidating security data into a single view and adopting data-driven narratives to translate technical complexity into business-focused messaging for non-technical leaders.

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Barriers to improved cross-departmental data sharing persist. Data privacy concerns were cited by 91% of respondents, alongside high storage costs (76%) and a lack of shared data views (70%).

The report also indicates a shift in how security leaders communicate value to executive teams. Incident reduction, improved Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) are now the primary metrics used to demonstrate return on investment. Close collaboration with C-suite peers, particularly on budgeting and strategic initiatives, is seen as critical to success.

Overall, the findings portray the CISO as an increasingly strategic figure within the enterprise. As organisations navigate rapid digital transformation and evolving threats, the role is framed not simply as a technical guardian but as a business leader championing data-driven strategy, human-centric leadership and measured AI integration to strengthen digital resilience.