The CISO Report

Splunk sits at the heart of Security Operations for many of the world’s largest and most complex organizations. We spend our days helping CISOs and their teams get ahead of emerging threats, respond quickly when incidents inevitably occur, and succeed as business enablers. But we also wondered, what do global security leaders really think about AI? Is our hypothesis true that CISOs are becoming central members of the C-suite? Do boards and CISOs speak the same language?

In The CISO Report, we share the results of our original research and offer insights on how leaders can evolve along with the cybersecurity landscape. Here are some of the most significant takeaways.

The CISO story, then, is about the constant struggle they face enabling the business to go fast while walking a daily tightrope between oft-competing priorities — the board’s allegiance to business success metrics and the practical realities of securing the organization. For many of them, this means constantly justifying their teams’ value to the C-suite and the board, while also filling security gaps caused by staffing shortfalls and finding new ways to mitigate organizational risk. The balancing act isn’t easy.

The research illustrates a complete picture of the CISO: the issues, challenges and opportunities they face on a daily basis. Yet despite an increasingly sophisticated threat landscape and an uncertain economic outlook, many are optimistic. More than ever before, they have an opportunity to become champions who can effectively change the security culture of their organization. Boards and CEOs are not only listening, but relying on them for guidance. And as CISOs look ahead, their focus will be on collaborating with teams across their organization, working together to become more resilient so they can not only weather any storm, but thrive in its aftermath.