More CISOs now report to top leadership, shaping strategy on risk, resilience, and trust as cybersecurity becomes a board-level priority.
For years, many CISOs have held C-suite titles without C-suite influence. Often reporting to CIOs or other technology leads, they’ve often been seen as security specialists. Essential, but perhaps not often consulted on broader business decisions. That’s finally changing.
According to RH-ISAC’s 2025 CISO Benchmark Report, the number of CISOs reporting directly to senior business leadership rose by 12% in the past year. It’s a growing sign that cybersecurity continues to evolve from a back-office function to a board-level concern, one that’s tied directly to operational continuity, customer trust, and business-wide risk exposure.
As CISOs move into a more strategic role, they’re taking on broader responsibilities. Their roles are less about enforcing control frameworks and more about shaping the organization’s future. And that requires a shift in mindset from security expert to business leader.
CISOs on the rise
The elevation of CISOs comes as a direct response to a threat landscape that’s become more complex, more costly, and far more visible than it once was. Cyberattacks, once seen by many as primarily IT’s responsibility, have become full-scale business-wide disruptions with serious consequences for revenue, operations, and brand trust. In 2024, the average cost of a data breach hit $4.88 million worldwide, but in the U.S., it was nearly double. In both cases, the total reflects technical fixes, downtime, lost business, and customer attrition.
Boards and executive teams are taking notice. As cyber threats increasingly impact core business areas, more organizations are rethinking where the CISO belongs in the leadership structure. Giving CISOs a direct line to the CEO or board makes perfect sense from a governance standpoint. It sharpens decision-making, speeds up response times, and ensures security is an essential part of the overall business strategy, not an afterthought.
The strategic CISO
Today’s CISOs continue to step into a broader leadership role that demands more than technical expertise. They’re showing up with a deeper fluency in risk, resilience, and growth, and bringing a strategic perspective that aligns security with business priorities. This shift isn’t just about defending systems; it’s about shaping how the organization navigates complexity, builds trust, and plans for the future.
That starts with resilience planning. CISOs are helping boards understand how digital failures could threaten core operations. They’re mapping critical dependencies, identifying high-impact risks like ransomware events or vendor outages, and translating those threats into business consequences, from downtime and lost revenue to regulatory exposure.
In product and technology development, CISOs are involved earlier in the process. They work with engineering, IT, and design teams to ensure that digital systems—whether customer-facing platforms or internal tools—are built with security in mind, not just tested after the fact. This proactive approach helps teams meet compliance requirements, support business goals, and avoid costly fixes or reputational risk down the line.
Vendor oversight is another area in which CISOs are expanding their reach. As digital supply chains grow more complex, so do the risks. Security leaders are now setting baseline requirements, reviewing vendor practices, and helping negotiate terms that build accountability into contracts.
CISO’s are also shaping ESG strategy. Issues like data ethics, AI governance, and breach transparency now intersect with security and stakeholder trust. CISOs who understand how digital systems impact people, policy, and reputation are becoming essential voices in board-level conversations.
The CISO as executive leader
To lead effectively at the executive level, CISOs need more than technical depth—they need to think and act like business leaders. That starts with communication. Security risks must be translated into business language the board understands: What’s the potential for financial loss, operational disruption, or reputational damage? Clear, concise framing builds trust, sharpens decisions, and ensures cybersecurity stays on the strategic agenda.
Collaboration is just as critical. Effective CISOs work closely with legal, operations, finance, and product teams, understanding what each function values and aligning security goals accordingly. Legal teams prioritize compliance; operations need minimal disruption; finance looks for predictability; and product teams push for speed. By positioning security as a business enabler, CISOs become partners, not roadblocks.
They also play a key role in building a culture of security. That includes championing cross-functional education, investing in talent, and helping teams across the organization make more risk-aware decisions. Cybersecurity isn’t just a function – it’s a mindset. And executive CISOs are leading the charge in embedding it across the enterprise.
Looking ahead
The elevation of the CISO reflects a larger shift in how companies define leadership. As digital systems underpin everything from operations to customer experience, cybersecurity has become a driver of strategic decision-making. Risk, resilience, and data ethics are now intertwined with how organizations grow, compete, and build trust.
Emerging technologies are raising the stakes. Tools like generative AI bring speed and scale, but they also introduce new threats and uncertainties. CISOs who can guide their organizations through this complexity, translating technical concerns into strategic priorities, will help shape the direction of the business.
That influence will depend less on technical expertise than on communication, judgment, and the ability to lead across departments. The strongest CISOs won’t just respond to boardroom priorities – they’ll help set them.
