The CISO Report 2026

From risk to resilience in the AI era, in partnership with Splunk.

In the second edition of the CISO report, Oxford Economics once again partnered with Splunk to survey 650 Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), between July and August of 2025 to understand the growing role of the CISO.

Findings reveal a role expanding faster than most can keep pace with, as leaders take on AI governance, secure software development, and mounting personal liability for security incidents. Yet even as threats grow more sophisticated — from AI-generated deepfake phishing to self-mutating malware — CISOs aren’t just playing defense. They’re investing in talent over technology, forging joint accountability with C-suite peers, and pushing to translate technical risk into business language the board can actually act on.

This report invites the reader to uncover how CISOs are navigating the AI paradox, from productivity gains to implementation challenges and risk management. It also surfaces the strategies CISOs are using to prove ROI, bridge the cybersecurity knowledge gap with leadership, and turn security from a cost center into a genuine driver of business resilience.

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The experts behind the research

Edward Cone

Editorial Director, Thought Leadership

Edward Cone

Editorial Director, Thought Leadership

Editorial Director Edward Cone oversees global research programs for our Thought Leadership group. As Technology Practice Lead he works with clients such as Google, Accenture, IBM, SAP, and many others. His areas of focus include Artificial Intelligence, the impact of technology on business performance, and healthcare organizations.

Edward joined the firm in 2012 after more than two decades as a business and technology journalist based in New York, Paris, and North Carolina, including stints as an editor and writer at various Ziff Davis magazines (CIO Insight, Baseline), a contributing editor at Wired, and a staff writer at Forbes.

Edward also wrote a weekly newspaper opinion column for many years in his hometown of Greensboro, NC and authored a semi-popular blog. He has contributed to a bewildering variety of magazines and papers on topics ranging from politics to rock climbing and was a frequent speaker and organizer at new media conferences across the country. Honors for his work include the 2020 Rybczynski Prize, awarded for the best essay on economics by Society of Professional Economists, and various awards from the American Society of Business Publication Editors and the North Carolina Press Association. He has a BA from Haverford College.
Matthew Reynolds

Senior Research Manager, Thought Leadership

Matthew Reynolds

Senior Research Manager, Thought Leadership

Matt manages a broad spectrum of technology-centric Thought Leadership programs, from cloud and software innovation to how organizations can participate in the metaverse. He has led successful programs for dozens of large organizations during his tenure at Oxford Economics, including SAP, PwC, NTT Data, Accenture, IBM, and EY. Matt’s experience gives him deep knowledge of the ins and outs of successful end-to-end program management, and he is an integral part of the Thought Leadership team.

With the organization since 2015, Matt holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English from The College of New Jersey. He is scheduled to graduate with an MBA in IT and Analytics at the Rutgers School of Business in May, 2023.
Aidan O’Farrell

Research Manager, Thought Leadership

Aidan O’Farrell

Research Manager, Thought Leadership

Aidan joined the Oxford Economics team in 2023 to support the Thought Leadership technology practice on research programs and project operations. Coming from a product management background, Aidan previously shepherded his growth ops team at a pre-seed tech startup through Series A funding. His prior experience includes extensive work on survey writing, design, coding, and data analysis, and he holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts degree in the History of Science & Technology from Brown University.
Revan Aponso

Research Associate, Thought Leadership

Revan Aponso

Research Associate, Thought Leadership

Revan's research experience covers a variety of areas from venture capital and affordable lending to supply chain logistics and advanced manufacturing. Revan holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from New York University, where he also served as a staff writer for the university's Economics Review.