2026 report finds executive-level CISO titles more prevalent than ever
Eurail confirms data breach following unauthorised access to customer systems
CISO news
2026 report finds executive-level CISO titles more prevalent than ever
ANS and Artico Search have released the 2026 State of
I the CISO Benchmark Report, revealing a significant structural shift in the cybersecurity leadership landscape.
The report shows that executive titles such as SVP, EVP and CISO are now the most common levels assigned to infosec leaders.
“ Executive-level titles are becoming more common, but many CISOs are still operating within legacy structures that haven’ t kept pace with the scope and expectations now placed on the role.”
“ The demand for experienced CISOs remains strong as the role continues to become more complex and more‘ executive’,” said Steve Martano, IANS Faculty and Partner at Artico Search’ s Cyber Practice.“ Understanding how organisations define scope, reporting structure, and leadership access and visibility is critical for CISOs planning their next move and for companies looking to hire or retain security leaders.”
As cybersecurity continues to gain prominence, CISOs are increasingly expected to serve not only as technical leaders but also as enterprise-wide digital risk strategists.
This elevation has brought greater visibility and influence with senior leadership and boards, along with broader accountability, deeper cross-functional engagement and heightened expectations.
“ The CISO role has clearly reached an inflection point,” said Nick Kakolowski, Senior Director, CISO Research at IANS.
Eurail confirms data breach following unauthorised access to customer systems
urail has confirmed it has experienced a security breach
E within its systems that resulted in unauthorised access to customer data.
A statement from Eurail said:“ Following the discovery, we immediately began work to secure our systems and initiated an investigation with the support of external cybersecurity specialists and legal advisors.
“ We take this matter very seriously and are currently conducting a thorough investigation to determine the full scope of the incident and its potential impact on customers, which includes participants of the European Commission’ s DiscoverEU action.”
Gary Fagan, CPO at Cytidel, said:“ Most breaches today don’ t rely on sophisticated techniques; they rely on exploiting known weaknesses that organisations haven’ t been able to address in time. With tens of thousands of new vulnerabilities emerging every year, security teams are overwhelmed.”
Javvad Malik, Lead Security Awareness Advocate at KnowBe4, said:“ Eurail’ s disclosure is not unique, but it’ s worth remembering that the real impact of breaches is felt in the long tail. Once personal data is exposed, the risk shifts from‘ IT incident’ to sustained fraud and impersonation. Organisations can’ t treat notification as a compliance exercise, and they need to be clear, specific, and timely so people can take meaningful protective steps.
“ From a human angle, travellers and younger users are especially vulnerable to follow‐on social engineering: convincing‘ refund’,‘ ticket reissue’, and‘ verification’ scams thrive on partial personal details.”
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