Proofpoint 2026 Voice of the CISO Report Finds Cyber Resilience Improving, While AI Expands the CISO Mandate
CIO Influence, Wednesday, September 9th, 2026
Proofpoint's 2026 Voice of the CISO report finds resilience improving while human risk and AI responsibilities grow.
Proofpoint's 2026 Voice of the CISO report, based on 1,600 CISOs across 16 countries, finds 61% expect a material cyberattack in the next 12 months, down from 76% in 2025, while material data loss fell from 66% to 53%.
However, 79% now see human risk as their biggest vulnerability, up from 66%, and 56% say they are unprepared for a targeted attack. GenAI security concerns jumped 18 points to 78%, and 85% say enabling safe AI use is a top priority, often without added resources.
Concerns increasingly center on collaboration platforms, AI assistants and agents, SaaS integrations, and public GenAI tools.