5 New Realities Every CISO Needs to Navigate

The CISO role has never been more important (or more complex). What was once a technical leadership position is now a balancing act between risk, regulation, resilience, and revenue.

CISOs are managing cyber risk, navigating regulatory change, supporting innovation, and answering to boards, all while leading lean teams in a global threat landscape.

That’s a tall order. And in a recent interview with Brian Glick, Editor-in-Chief of the UK’s Computer Weekly, Liz Morton, Field CISO at Axonius, offered a candid look at the new realities CISOs must navigate to lead effectively.

Here are five of the biggest shifts redefining the role.

Watch the full interview or read on for the key takeaways.

1. Security is now a strategic lever for growth

Perhaps the most meaningful shift? Security is no longer a behind-the-scenes support function. It’s now central to how companies grow, compete, and build resilience.

Time and again, it’s been proven: if better security measures had been in place, companies would have been better off commercially. It often takes just one breach, one misstep, to expose the true cost of underinvestment and reshape how the board sees its value.

“Trying to not be at the table with the rest of the business leaders, while also kind of working in service to them—that only takes you so far,” Liz explains. “You have to be at the table as an equal. It's less expensive to mount a good hygiene campaign than it is to mount a defense.”

This evolution is pushing CISOs to think more like business leaders and focus on measurable impact. And for many, it’s a welcome change.

2. CISOs are operating without a defined playbook

Ask ten CISOs how their role is structured, and you’ll get ten different answers. Some CISOs report to the CIO. Others report to the CEO. Some have the formal title. Others don’t—but are still doing the work.

This variability isn’t just about org charts. It directly affects how CISOs are positioned. One CISO might be deeply embedded in strategy, and another might be focused purely on controls and compliance. Both are accountable for managing risk, but few are given the same level of visibility, influence, or support.

The role is shaped as much by internal politics and cultural expectations as it is by job descriptions. Navigating that ambiguity, and still delivering, is a leadership skill all its own.

3. Regulations need interpreting and selling

Frameworks like GDPR and the SEC’s cybersecurity disclosure rules are table stakes. Understanding what’s required is one thing. Convincing the business to prioritize and fund the right initiatives is something else entirely.

“That introduces a very common business problem,” Liz notes. “Taking a set of requirements and translating them into a business need, and then translating that need into a way to fund and execute it.”

To succeed, modern CISOs have to build the bridge between regulatory pressure and business outcomes—connecting the dots between compliance, risk, and what actually moves the business forward.

4. Compliance is regional, but risk is global

CISOs in Europe may be navigating some of the world’s most mature regulatory environments, but the pressure they’re under is hardly regional. Threat actors, third-party risks, and cloud misconfigurations don’t care where your office is headquartered.

Modern CISOs need to operate on two fronts:

• Translating and executing against regional frameworks

• Building resilient, globally aware programs that span hybrid infrastructure, distributed teams, and international supply chains

And as organizations grow more interdependent, relying on SaaS, cloud, and third parties, the pressure to manage global exposure only increases.

In other words: being compliant is local. Being secure is global.

5. Building the right team requires looking beyond the usual pipeline

Every CISO is aware of the cyber talent gap. But Liz challenges the idea that solving it means hiring more red teamers or SOC analysts.

“This is a technical field, but it’s not exclusively a technical field,” she explains. “Let's not forget that we have a lot of need for soft skills in this space.”

The strongest teams aren’t built from a single mold. They're blended—made up of engineers, ops pros, compliance experts, and other specialists who bring transferable skills and curiosity to the table. Before she worked in cybersecurity, Liz’s own career started in architecture and engineering.

And when resources are tight, automation has to step in. Liz’s one piece of advice for CISOs: don’t make your people work harder than your machines.

There’s no shortage of pressure. Expectations keep piling up (even when headcount and budget don’t). But as the CISO role continues to evolve, so does the opportunity to lead with more impact than ever before.