AI is a double-edged sword for CISOs finds new study

The vast majority of cybersecurity leaders see artificial intelligence as a good thing for their industry, according to new research from American software firm Splunk.

In a recent survey titled “The CISO Report: From Risk to Resilience in the AI Era”, Splunk quizzed 650 international chief information security officers about their attitudes towards AI and how their roles are changing more generally.

Nearly all respondents (92 per cent) agreed that reviewing a higher number of security events is now possible thanks to the rise of AI technology.

AI’s ability to process large volumes of data and identify important insights at rapid speed seems to be a big plus for CISOs, in particular. Splunk says the technology is improving data correlation for 89 per cent of the CISOs.

But agentic AI tools, which are designed to make decisions with less human input, could improve how cybersecurity professionals work with data even further.

In fact, 82 per cent of respondents think agentic AI will enable them to review a higher volume of data. And a further 82 per cent expect to see increased data correlation and response speeds thanks to this new area of AI.

But despite most cybersecurity leaders praising the capabilities of agentic AI, just 6 per cent are actually using it in their departments.

The increasing use of AI by CISOs seems more important than ever given that four out of five respondents believe their role is growing in complexity.

AI is, however, a double-edged sword for CISOs. Although the technology is transforming how CISOs and their teams work, it’s also being leveraged by cyber criminals. In fact, 86 per cent of CISOs think AI is making social engineering attacks more sophisticated.

And 82 per cent of respondents believe that AI will help cyber criminals create more complex persistence mechanisms – hacking techniques that allow hackers to stay inside breached IT systems for long periods of time without any disruptions – and deploy them with increasing speed.

Moreover, most CISOs (95 per cent) agree that the techniques adopted by cyber criminals are becoming more sophisticated and that this is the most profound risk they and their organisations face today.

With this in mind, 92 per cent of respondents are prioritising the improvement of threat detection and response as a matter of urgency. The next biggest priorities are bolstering identity and access management measures (78 per cent) and pouring more money into AI cybersecurity investments (68 per cent).

Michael Fanning, CISO of Splunk, said: “CISOs operate in the eye of the storm, at the center of constant transformation. Role responsibilities expand, threats evolve, and AI accelerates everything.

“This expanded mandate brings an exceptional level of pressure and personal accountability. We are not just managing technology. We are managing risk, talent, and the digital resilience that drives critical business outcomes.”