2026 will present a great deal of challenges for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) with threats becoming more evolved and complex and regulatory requirements for information security and privacy becoming stricter. The role of CISOs will considerably expand.

Let us look at what cybersecurity experts have predicted to be the most immediate challenges for CISOs in 2026.

Top challenges for CISOs in 2026

1. The rise of AI enabled threats

AI-enabled cyberattacks have become one of the top organizational risks, and CISOs face a challenge to formulate defense mechanisms, controls, and measures against evolving threats, especially those that involve the weaponization of AI. Last year, over 60% of organizations experienced a cyber attack that was AI-enabled, with only 7% having deployed a cyber defense that is AI-enabled (BCG, 2025).  CISOs in 2026 will face added pressure to prepare defenses against AI-enabled threats.

2. Rise of Shadow AI

As the use of public AI/LLM becomes mainstream, CISOs face a challenge to keep data secured as control and security of data are lost, and the attack surface expands with employees bringing their own AI/LLM tools for executing their tasks. CISOs will have a tough time with limited visibility over unvetted tools that could potentially expose the organization to security and compliance risks.

3. Vendor and third-party risks

Supply chain breaches have caused operational disruption and chaos among the biggest brands. Companies like Starbucks were forced to shift to manual processes due to ransomware attacks on supply chain technology provider Yonder. Third-party risks will most likely rise in 2026, with threat actors looking for weaknesses in the infrastructure of third-party vendors and suppliers. CISOs will face a challenge in managing third-party risks.

4. Skills gap/Human error

The cybersecurity skills gap grows at a rate of 19.1% on a year-on-year basis (ISC2), and it is one of the biggest challenges for CISOs in 2026. Cybersecurity solutions like SIEM, MDR, XDR, etc., require specialized skills to manage. The shortage in cybersecurity talent will make it challenging for CISOs to ensure cybersecurity resilience causing a significant impediment to operations from threat hunting or incident response. 63% of CISOs reported burnout within a year (ProofPoint Voice of CISO2025).

5. Cybersecurity compliance regulations

Business had to pay $1,74,000 more on average as a damage of data breach when non-compliance was a contributing factor (IBM,2025). CISOs will face increased pressure from regulatory bodies to comply with cybersecurity and data protection regulations like GDPR, ISO27001, PCI DSS, and others.

With regional compliance regulations for almost every country (more than 170+ countries!), CISOs will have a tough time ensuring that the cybersecurity measures align with the regional compliance regulations.

Some shocking facts to consider

(Source – Proof Point Voice of CISO 2025, Gartner)

• 76% of CISOs predict material cyberattack in 2026
• GenAI related data loss and human risk are the top concerns for CISOs in 2026
• 58% of CISOs have reported they are unprepared to respond to attacks
• 80% of CISOs concern over potential customer data loss via public GenAI platforms
• By 2027, 50% of CISOs will have adopted human-centric security design to minimize cybersecurity induced friction and maximize adoption of security control