CISOs are becoming ever more powerful at work - even more than other C-level execs

• Half of CISOs say their responsibilities have grown over the past year
• CISOs are climbing the ladder and ending up at the executive level
• 28% of CISOs across all industries say their role is no longer manageable

Executive-level CISO roles are on the up, growing from 33% in 2023 to 47% in 2025, per a new IANS report which explores changes to the role.

Previously, CISOs frequently reported into IT leadership, and while this is still the case 64% of the time, the remaining 36% sees them reporting to business and C-suite leaders.

IANS Research Faculty member Steve Martano explained the reason behind higher-ranking CISOs is the increasing importance of cybersecurity. The clearest increase is in publicly listed firms worth over $1 billion, where 55% of CISOs are now at executive level compared with 36% in 2024 and 34% in 2023.