CISO Role Gains Influence: 20% Report Directly to CEOs

Deloitte Global’s new survey has revealed businesses are giving their chief information security officers (CISOs) more influence, with 20% of CISOs reporting directly to their CEOs.

The Global Future of Cyber Survey which is currently in its fourth edition, and gathered responses from nearly 1,200 cyber decision-makers across 43 countries, has shown the progression of the cybersecurity role in the C-suite. 

The significant change in numbers of CISOs reporting to CEOs instead of CIOs highlights the increasing importance of cybersecurity in strategic growth for businesses.

Emily Mossburg, Deloitte’s global cyber leader, said: “The rise of AI and other evolving technologies has significantly transformed the threat landscape.

“As threats become more sophisticated and impactful to core business, CISOs are increasingly required to adopt a more strategic role driving cross business risk prioritisation and mitigation.”

Evolving role in the face of AI and cyber threats 

The rising influence of the CISO is driven by AI-generated threats that exploit vulnerabilities by impersonating trusted sources.

Some 39% of respondents are extensively using AI in their cybersecurity programmes, indicating an increasingly integrated approach to cybersecurity within businesses.

AI technologies are being used to analyse vast amounts of data, detect anomalies, and identify potential threats in real-time; this adoption of AI in cybersecurity reflects a shift towards more proactive and predictive security measures.

A director general of a government cyber and IT security agency said: “The big shift for us is by bringing in the security discussion before, not after, building the solution. 

“We really want to move into ‘security by design’ as opposed to what often happens - ‘security by assessment’ - which requires security to be more of a strategic part of the overall business.”

Cybersecurity's role in safeguarding technology investments

Cybersecurity is playing an influential role in safeguarding investments in technology. The focus areas include cloud computing, Generative AI and data analytics. 

High-performing, cyber-mature organisations are characterised by consistent cyber planning and strategic engagement at the board level. 

These organisations expect to achieve their business outcomes by 27% more on average compared to global respondents overall.

The importance of maintaining secure systems is highlighted by findings that 25% of respondents from cyber-mature businesses reported experiencing 11 or more cybersecurity incidents in the past year - a 7% increase from 2023. 

Organisations increasingly recognise cybersecurity as essential to their technology infrastructure, strategic planning, and growth objectives. 

Key outcomes of cybersecurity initiatives 

The survey shows leading outcomes from cybersecurity initiatives include the protection of intellectual property, improved threat detection and response and enhanced efficiency.

Protection of intellectual property emerged as the leading priority and outcome of cybersecurity initiatives across organisations, with 46% of respondents identifying it as a key result of their cybersecurity efforts. 

Improved threat detection and response and enhanced efficiency and agility were also key priorities and outcomes of these initiatives, with 44% of respondents identifying these outcomes resulting from their efforts.

Furthermore, the report highlights a significant trend towards integrating cybersecurity spending with other strategic budgets. 

Over half of Deloitte Global’s respondents said they expect to integrate cybersecurity spending with other budgets, such as digital transformation and IT initiatives. 

Additionally, 57% said they anticipate increasing their budget for cybersecurity over the next 12 to 24 months.

Mossburg said: "The close relationship between CISOs and CEOs is a testament to the role security plays in a business’s long-term success."

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