- Half of CISOs say their responsibilities have increased over the past year
- CISOs are climbing the ladder and ending up at the executive level
- 28% of CISOs across industries say their role is no longer manageable.
Executive-level CISO roles are increasing, rising from 33% in 2023 to 47% in 2025, according to a new IANS report exploring changes in the role.
Previously, CISOs frequently reported to IT leaders and while this is still the case 64% of the time, the remaining 36% they report to business and senior leaders.
Steve Martano, a member of the IANS Research Faculty, explained that the reason behind senior CISOs is the growing importance of cybersecurity. The clearest increase is in publicly traded companies worth more than $1 billion, where 55% of CISOs are now at the executive level compared to 36% in 2024 and 34% in 2023.
The role of the CISO is increasing
The report also details the expansion of the CISO role overall, with half (52%) concerned that its scope is no longer completely manageable, especially in smaller organizations. A similar number (53%) also noted that their responsibilities have increased over the past year.
In addition to the obvious (information security responsibilities and enterprise risk responsibilities), many CISOs also have responsibility for IT compliance, operations, infrastructure, architecture, and networks.
However, this is not necessarily a bad thing, as IANS reveals: increasing reach can encourage greater collaboration, with 91% interacting with the CIO or CTO at least monthly, ensuring that C-suite leaders are singing from the same hymn.
That said, there are challenges. A quarter (28%) say their role is no longer manageable, but this figure rises to a staggering 58% within the education sector, which is not typically technology-focused. In addition to scope expansion, staff shortages, budget and cost constraints, operational overload, and structural gaps were cited.
“Understanding how organizations define scope, reporting structure, and leadership access and visibility is critical for CISOs to plan their next move and for companies looking to hire or retain security leaders,” Martano concluded.
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