德勤 -重新思考 AI 全面普及企业中的首席信息安全官（CISO）职能 Rethinking the CISO role for an AI-saturated enterprise

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RethinkingtheCISOroleforanAI-saturatedenterprise

AIispushingCISOsbeyondtheirtraditionalcybersecurityboundaries.Here’showtherolecanshiftfromowningtechrisktohelpingtheenterprisegovernitacrossfunctions.ByUpenSachdev,LynneChallender,AliZiaee,AnjaliShaikh,MichaelWilson,DianaKearns-Manolatos

Article•9-minread•03September2026•DeloitteCenterforIntegratedResearch

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AsartificialintelligencemovesfromcopilotstoautonomousAI

agents,manyenterprisesaredelegatingmoredecisionstosystemsthatcanaccessdataandactwithincreasingindependence.Buttheprocessforestablishingaccountabilityforthosedecisionshasnotalways

movedatthesamepace.Deloitteresearchindicatesthat80%of

automationleadersplantoaccelerateinvestmentinAIagents,whileonly21%oforganizationsreporthavingmatureagenticAI

governancecapabilities.

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TheresultisawideninggapbetweenthefrequencyofAIdeploymentandanorganization’sreadinessto

managethepotentialrisksandoutcomeswhenAIacts.

ForchiefinformationsecurityofficersandtherestofthetechC-suite,thiscreatesapressinggovernanceproblem.AIriskincreasinglycuts

acrosscyber,operations,data,compliance,vendors,finance,andthebusinessitself.

Deloitte’s2026GlobalTechnologyLeadershipStudy

ofmorethan660seniortechnologyleaderssuggeststhatnosingle

functioncanmanageallthoseexposuresend-to-end,butsharedresponsibilityshouldn’tmeanambiguousaccountability,either.

FortheCISOinparticular,thattensioncouldreshapetherole.Asnewadversarialrisksempowerthreatactors,organizationswillstillneed

theCISOtoimplementandevolvesecuritycapabilities,buttherolealsonowhastoworkacrossdecisionsanddomainsthattheCISO

doesn’town.ThosedecisionsmayspanboththetechC-suiteandthebusiness.HowcantheCISOhelpbuildthecontrols,relationships,

governance,andintegrityneededacrossasharedresponsibilitymodel?

WithoutredefiningriskmanagementandoversightforanAI-saturatedenterprise,organizationsriskscalingAIfasterthantheycanabsorb

theconsequencesitcouldpotentiallycreate.CISOscouldhelpmove

AIgovernancefrombroadprinciplestocleardecisionrights,named

ownership,measurablecontrols,andcontinuousoversight,evenwhentherisksthemselvessitoutsidethesecurityfunction.

WheneveryoneownsAI,who

ownstheriskandtheoutcome?

AIleadershipisalreadydistributedacrossthetechC-suite.CISOs,

chieftechnologyofficers,chiefinformationofficers,andchiefdataandanalyticsofficersallbringdistinctprioritiestoAIstrategy,delivery,

performance,andaccountability(figure1).Addvendorsand

autonomousAIagentstothemix,andthelinesbetweenwhomakesadecisionandwhoisresponsibleforitsoutcomesbecomelessclear.

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ResponsibilityforAIoutcomescan’tbeownedneatlybyoneroleorfunction.Decisionrightscrossbusinessunits,technologyleaders,andgovernancecouncilstoday,andmanyleadersexpectthemtocontinuedoingsooverthenexttwoyears.

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Asbusinessoperationsandthird-partyprovidersbecomemoreinterconnected,thetraditional

assumptionthatasinglefunctioncanowntechnologyriskend-to-endisincreasinglyunrealistic.

Thatmakescollaborationacrossfunctionsevenmoreimportant.Yetthefunctionsthatcouldhelptechleadersnavigaterisksthatfall

outsidetraditionaltechnologyboundariesaren’tnecessarilytheonestheyoftenconsidercentraltoachievingtheirobjectives.Forexample,just11%oftechleadersinoursurveyidentifylegal,compliance,andriskascriticaltoachievingtheirobjectivestodayandintwoyears

(figure2).ButexcludingthesefunctionsfromownershipofAI

outcomescouldleaveorganizationslesspreparedtomanagenewformsofthird-partyrisk,includingmanagingdatarights

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and

intellectualproperty.

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Cross-functionalownershipalsoincreasinglyextendsbeyondthe

boundariesoftheenterprise.Sixty-threepercentoftechnologyleaderssurveyedreportthattheirrelianceonvendorsincreasedoverthepastyear,while62%expectthatreliancetoincreaseoverthenexttwo

years.AsorganizationsdependonmoreAIplatforms,models,

applicationprogramminginterfaces,andengineeringpartners,responsibilityforAIoutcomesspansbothagrowingnetworkofexternalvendorsandmoreinternalteams.

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Thisincreasinglydistributednetworkoftechprovidersandusers

meansthattheCISOrolecouldbecomelessaboutowningthoserisksandmoreaboutorchestratinghowtheyaremanaged,ensuringthe

rightownersandcontrolsareinplaceacrossfinancial,operational,

andbrandrisks.ManyCISOsareuniquelypositionedtoconnecttheseoutcomesandcommunicatethemtotheboard,workingin

coordinationwiththebusinessleaderswhodefinecorporaterisk

thresholds,AIoutcomes,andreturnoninvestmentexpectations,andthetechnologyleaderwhodeterminesthetoolsandsolutionsneededtoachievethem.

Fromsecuritygatekeepertoenterpriseriskorchestrator

ThegrowingprevalenceoftheCISOrolesuggeststhatorganizationsalreadyseesecurityandresiliencebecomingmoreimportant.Forty-ninepercentoforganizationsinoursurveyreporthavingaCISOrolein2026,upfrom31%in2023.ManyCISOsarebeingmeasuredonoutcomesthatextendbeyondcybersecurity,includingintegrationofsecurityintoAIinitiatives,organizationalsecuritycultureand

workforceawareness,andbusinessvalueenabledthroughriskreduction.AIcouldpushthatevolutionfurther.

AsAIagentsbecomemoreautonomousandalwayson,users’identityandaccessmanagementcouldbecomecoreelementsofthecontrol

planeformanagingrisk.

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Themodelisshiftingfromsimply“whocanaccesswhat”to“who(orwhat)canaccesswhat,atwhattime,andonwhosebehalf.”CISOscouldleadtheirorganizations’efforttocreate

transparencyacrosstheentiresystem,frommanagingidentificationandaccessprocessesforbothAIagentsandhumansseekingaccesstotechplatformsandsolutions,todevelopingandowningthe

orchestrationandcontrolplanesthatmanagesystemsofauthority,control,andgovernance.

Monitoringwilllikelyalsoneedtoadapt.Organizationsneedtobe

abletodetectanomaloustooluse,privilegeescalation,unusualdata

access,goaldeviation,unexpectedinteractionsbetweenconnected

systems,andchangesinAIagentbehavior.ControlsshouldgenerateauditablelogsandsupportrapidinterventionwhenanAIagent

crossesadefinedriskthreshold.Organizationsshouldalsoestablishinadvancewhichactionsrequirehumanapproval,whichcanbe

automated,andwhicheventstriggerapause,escalation,orinvestigation.

Detectionandresponsealsoneedtohappeninnearreal-time,asAIoperations—andthethreatstargetingthem—movefaster.Asone

CISOatamajorAmericanbiopharmaceuticalcompanysaysinan

interview,“Backintheday,ifavulnerabilitygotintroduced,youhadatleastweeks.Thesedaysit’sgettingdowntohours.”

GiventherolesecurityneedstoplayinAIdelivery,moreemphasis

likelyneedstobeplacedonbuildinginsecurityfromthestart,astheAIsolutionisbeingdesignedanddeveloped.Secure-by-design

principlescanworktoembedreal-timeriskmonitoring,audittrails,andexplainabilityintotheproductlifecycle—ataskthatcould

requiremorestrategiccollaborationbetweentheproduct’schiefarchitectandtheorganization’sCISO,accordingtofindingsfromDeloitte’sGlobalFutureofCyberStudy.

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“Compromisesofsystemsandapplicationsandenvironmentswill

happen,”theCISOatahealthcarecompanytoldusinaninterview.

“Ifyoutrytopreventeverycompromise,it’sgoingtobeveryhardtogetbusinessdoneinthecompany.Thegoalisyoubuildyourprogramsothatifasystem’scompromised,youseeitasquicklyaspossible,

youimmediatelycontainit,andyoueradicateitfromtheenvironmentbeforeithasabiggerimpactonthecompany.”

TheCISO’srole,then,islessaboutpreventingorowningeveryriskAImightintroduceandmoreabouthelpingensurethattheenterprisecanseetherisksacrossfunctions,containthem,andintervenewhen

necessary.

HowCISOscanmakesharedownershipwork

AgenticAIcanturnfragmentedaccountabilityintoreal-time

enterpriserisk.Decisionrights,escalationpaths,ownershipof

autonomous-agentoutcomes,andvendorriskallneedremappingasAIdistributesauthorityfasterthanaccountabilitycanbemanaged.

Butcross-functionalresponsibilitystillrequiresclearaccountabilityforoutcomes.Asriskleaders,CISOscanhelpdefineorganizationalrisk

thresholds,clarifyownership,andestablishtherightcontrolswith

sharedresponsibilityacrossfunctions.MultiplefunctionsmighthavearoleinmanaginganAIusecase,butoneaccountableownercan

provideclarityaboutwhoisultimatelyresponsiblefortheoutcome.

CISOshaveanopportunitytodevelopanddriveanAI-relatedriskmanagementmodelacrossfunctions.Thesefourmovescanhelp

clarifytheCISO’sroleinmakingthatmodelwork.

1.Assignclearownershipanddecisionrights.EachsignificantAIusecaseshouldhaveaclearlyidentifiedbusinessowner,

technicalowner,andriskoversightowner.Adecision-rights

mapshouldspecifywhocanapprovedeployment,whocan

pauseorrestrictthesystem,whoshouldbeconsulted,and

whoshouldbeinformed.Organizationsshouldalsoestablishinadvancewhichactionsrequirehumanapproval,which

actionscanbeautomated,andwhicheventsshould

automaticallytriggerapause,escalation,orinvestigation.TheCISOcanhelpdefinethesecuritycontrolsandescalation

requirementsaroundthosedecisionswithoutbecomingthedefaultownerofthebusinessoutcome.

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2.Bringcross-functionalpartnersintoAIdecisions

earlier.Security,architecture,data,privacy,compliance,

procurement,finance,andbusinessstakeholdersshould

participateearlyinAIvendoranduse-casedecisions.Earlycollaborationcanreducedownstreamredesign,approvaldelays,andunmanagedimplementationrisk.

Thisisparticularlyimportantforthird-partyrisk.Shifting

tech-vendorpricingmodelsanddata-accesstermsare

becomingsourcesofdependencyrisk.Vendorcontractscan

introducerisksrelatedtodatarightsandintellectualproperty,whilechangingpricingmodels(suchasimposingAPIfees,

data-accesscharges,ortoken-basedpricing)anddataaccess

termscancreatenewdependencies.AsHananSzwarcbord,

chiefsecurityofficeratMicronTechnology,aglobalproviderofmemoryandstoragesolutions,says,“Oneapproachcanbemakingthetoolselectionacollaborativeprocessacrossthe

organization,soit’snotjustITimposingone.”

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ThisconveningroleoftenfallsnaturallytotheCISO,whoalreadysitsattheintersectionofsecurity,compliance,andvendorrisk,andislikelywellpositionedtobringtherightfunctionsandvendorsintotheconversation.

3.Translateriskappetiteintooperatingguardrails.Accordingtoagroupchiefinformationsecurityofficerinamajor

Japanesefinancialservicesgroup,“Inmanyorganizations,noonehasreallyclearlydefinedwhatthecyberriskappetite

shouldbe,andhowyou’regoingtocalculateit,howyou’re

goingtotrackit,andhowyou’regoingtopresentitacrosstheboard.”

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AsAIsystemstakeonmoreautonomousactions,

organizationsneedtotranslateriskappetiteintoconcreteoperatingdecisions.TheCISOmaynotownthosebusinessdecisions,butthefunctioncanhelpmakethemenforceablethroughcontrols,monitoring,andescalationmechanisms.

4.Testwhethergovernanceworksatthespeedof

AI.DeterminewhetherAIgovernancecanfunctionasan

operatingcapability.Usescenarioplanningtotestgovernanceresilience.Regularlytesthigh-impactscenariossuchasvendoroutages,compromisedmodels,prompt-injectionattacks,or

unauthorizedAIagentactions,andtrackgovernance

effectivenessthroughmeasuressuchasownershipcoverage,

limitingsystemaccesstoonlywhat’snecessary,auditability,

andincidentresponsetimes.Thinkthroughowners,outcomes,controls,andoperatingmodelsacrossdifferentscenarios.ThiskindofscenariotestingdrawsoncapabilitiesmanyCISOs

alreadyrunforsecurityoperationsandincidentresponse,

makingthesecurityfunctionanaturalhomeforstress-testingAIgovernance.

AccordingtotheCISOatonehealthcarecompany,“An

annualstrategyandplanningexerciseisn’teffectiveanymore.Youhavetoconsistentlyberevisitingprioritiesand

understandingwhetherchangesintheworldaroundushavecausedustogobackandpivotinourstrategy.”

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AIgovernanceeffectivenesscanalsobemeasuredthroughoperationalmetrics.Usefulmeasurescouldincludethe

percentageofAIagentsinventoriedandassignedanowner,thepercentageofAIagentswithaccesslimitedtoonlythesystemsanddatatheyneed,thetimerequiredtorevokeAIagentaccess,thepercentageofhigh-impactdecisions

supportedbyaudittrails,thenumberofunresolvedpolicyexceptions,andtheaveragetimetodetectandcontainAI-relatedincidents..

Governingriskatmachinespeed

Organizations’techresiliencecannowdependonenablingsecurityandmanagingriskatmachinespeed.ButAImakestechnologyrisksimultaneouslyacyber,compliance,vendor,andoperational

responsibility,potentiallyleavingaccountabilitygapswherethosedomainsstopandstart.

Manyorganizationswilllikelyneedtomovefromfunction-by-

functionownershipofAIriskmanagement—cyberownscyber,

complianceownscompliance—toasinglecross-domainrisk

managementprocesstiedtobusinessoutcomes.CISOsdon’tneedto

ownthegovernanceofeverypossibleriskAIcouldcreate,butthey’rewellpositionedtoconnectsecuritycontrols,monitoring,escalation,

andresilienceacrossfunctionssoorganizationalleaderscanseewhereriskexposureexists,whoownstheoutcomeofanAI-relatedrisk

event,andwheninterventionisrequired.InanAI-saturated

enterprise,theabilitytomakethatmodelworkatspeedmightbecomeadefiningpartoftheCISOrole.

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Methodology

Deloitte’s2026GlobalTechnologyLeadershipStudysurveyed662seniortechnologyleadersintheAmericas(includingLatinAmerica);Europe,theMiddleEast,andAfrica;andAsia-Pacificregionstounderstandhowseniortechnologyleadership

rolesandresponsibilitiesareevolving,aswellasthekeychallengesandstrategicprioritiesshaping2026andbeyond.DatawascollectedthroughanonlinesurveyfromDec.22,2025,toFeb.23,2026.

Amajorityoftherespondents(87%)wereC-suitetechleaders.Forthematicandroleanalysis,respondentsweregroupedintofourC-suitepersonasbasedontheirtitle,includingchiefinformationofficers,chieftechnologyofficers,chiefdataandanalyticsofficers,andchiefinformationsecurityofficers.Executivesrepresentedorganizationswithannualrevenuesof

US$1billionormore,includingpubliclyandprivatelyownedcompanies,aswellasnot-for-profitandgovernmententities.Primaryindustriesrepresentedincludeconsumerproductsandservices;financialservices;technology,media,and

telecommunications;energy,resources,andindustrials;lifesciencesandhealthcare;andgovernmentandpublicservices.

ContinuetheconversationMeettheindustryleaders

UpenSachdev

Principal|CyberRisk|Deloitte&ToucheLLP

DeloitteUnitedStates

AnjaliShaikh

GlobalCIOProgram&USTechExecutiveProgramsLeader|

ManagingDirector,DeloitteConsultingLLP

DeloitteUnitedStates

StevePratt

Managingprincipal,Indianapolis

Marketplace,DeloitteLLP|USTechExecutiveProgramsLeader|

Principal,DeloitteConsultingLLPDeloitteUnitedStates

LynneChallender

Managingdirector|Cyberstrategyandtransformationleader

DeloitteUnitedStates

BYUpenSachdev

DeloitteUnitedStates

AliZiaee

DeloitteUnitedStates

MichaelWilson

DeloitteUnitedStates

LynneChallender

DeloitteUnitedStates

AnjaliShaikh

DeloitteUnitedStates

DianaKearns-Manolatos

DeloitteUnitedStates

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ENDNOTES

1.JimRowan,NitinMittal,BeenaAmmanath,andCostiPerricos,“

StateofAIintheenterprise:Theuntappededge

,”Deloitte,January2026.

2.AnjaliShaikhandStevePratt,“

2026GlobalTechnologyLeadershipStudy

,”Deloitte,April30,2026.

3.MichaelWilson,RamRavi,DianaKearns-Manolatos,WhitneyMetzger,andDavidJarvis,“ThepricingparadoxofagenticSaaS:Whattodoabouttollgating?”DeloitteInsights,June17,2026.

4.TimMurphy,DianaKearns-Manolatos,andAdityaNarayan,“

HowbrandsaremanagingintellectualpropertyintheageofAI

,”DeloitteandTheWallStreetJournal,May23,2026.

5.DeloitteUS,“

TheAIimpactoncyberrisk:Understandingnewthreats,defenses,andtheCISO’sevolvingmandate

,”accessedAug.26,2026.

6.EmilyMossburgetal.,“

TheGlobalFutureofCyberSurvey,4thedition

,”DeloitteGlobal,Oct.21,2024.

7.KatherineNoyes,“

Micronleaders:AIhas‘turbocharged’collaboration

,”DeloitteandTheWallStreetJournal,April1,2026.

8.DeloitteinterviewconductedinDecember2025.

9.Ibid.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

TheauthorswouldliketothankMonikaMahtoandErikaMaguirefortheirsignificantcontributionstotheresearchanddevelopmentofthisarticle.

We’dliketothankStevePratt,VikramKunchala,andNatalieAndrusfortheirthoughtfulreviewandinputbasedontheimpactfulworkthey’redrivinginthemarket.

WeextendourappreciationtoAyushKumarforhissupportindataanalysis,aswellastothemarketingteam—JenniferRood,Saurabh

Rijhwani,AkshayPoojari,JenniferPopovich,andPratyushaPeddasomayajula—fortheirsupportinamplifyingtheimpactoftheseinsights.

Editorial(includingproductionandcopyediting):CorrieCommisso,ElisabethSullivan,ShyamiliM,AnuAugustine,andPubaliDeyDesign:MollyPiersolandSonyaVasilieff

Coverimageby:SonyaVasilieff

Knowledgeservices:RishithaBichapogu

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