December 2025
As we approach 2026, Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) continue to navigate an era of unprecedented complexity and risk. According to a recent Gartner poll, 60% of CISOs cite macroeconomic volatility and uncertainty as significant challenges to achieving their strategic objectives in the next six months.
The cybersecurity landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by accelerated AI adoption, emerging attack vectors, and increasing regulatory demands. In this environment, CISOs must demonstrate strategic leadership, foster resilience, and guide their organizations through ongoing uncertainty.
To address these challenges head-on, security executives in Gartner CISO Communities will gather throughout the year to connect, share insights, and validate strategies on these critical topics. Staying true to our By CISOs, For CISOs® model, community members are actively sharing their opportunities and challenges, ensuring each event agenda reflects their most pressing business priorities.
From these conversations, three key themes have emerged. Here are the top focus areas for CISOs in 2026:
- Strengthening Security Posture Amid Evolving and Unpredictable Threats
Cybersecurity leaders are facing an increasingly complex threat landscape, fueled by rapid AI adoption and emerging attack vectors such as deepfakes. By proactively engaging boards and executives and aligning on business-critical risks, CISOs can ensure that cybersecurity initiatives protect shareholder value and adapt to evolving exposures. This approach positions organizations to withstand volatility and safeguard digital assets against unpredictable threats. As one CISO community member advised, “Connect the security strategy and strategic goals to the business strategy. Do more scenario planning and risk assessments to help better planning and preparedness."
- Focusing Cyber Resilience for Critical Operations
Cyber resilience was the top priority for CISOs in 2025 and will remain a critical focus in 2026. CISOs are recalibrating resilience strategies by concentrating resources on protecting and continuously testing critical infrastructure and essential business operations. As one CISO community member emphasized, “Cyber resilience goes well beyond IT recovery plans—it includes legal, public relations, market disclosures, and supplier readiness. It’s about full, end-to-end coordination and readiness across departments.” Ongoing, diverse testing and close collaboration with relevant stakeholders are crucial to ensure defenses remain robust, adaptive, and responsive to the evolving threat landscape.
- Balancing GenAI Innovation with Practical Governance
As one CISO community member noted, “Continued demand for using AI and AI-based solutions will have impacts on security, compliance, and technology.” CISOs are approaching GenAI initiatives with measured realism, focusing on proven business value and resilience rather than hype. Building AI literacy within security teams and embedding security controls throughout the AI lifecycle will be essential steps. By emphasizing practical oversight, CISOs can guide responsible AI adoption, manage emerging risks, and ensure cybersecurity continues to support organizational objectives. Dionisio Zumerle, VP Analyst at Gartner advises, “Identify the new threats that GenAI-augmented coding and AI agentic applications introduce, but also experiment with GenAI to help developers learn security and remediate quickly.”
As our 2026 community gatherings begin, we look forward to bringing CISOs together to address these critical themes. If you’re ready to collaborate with fellow cybersecurity executives, exchange ideas, and drive enterprise resilience, we invite you to apply to join Gartner CISO Communities and be part of this dynamic network. Current members can sign in to register for upcoming community programs.
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