Security budgets are tight but the CISO stature rises!

DarkReading.com reported that “The rate of compensation gains has slowed from the COVID years, and budgets remain largely static due to economic fears, but CISOs are increasingly gaining executive status and responsibilities.”  The May 30, 2025 article entitled “CISO Stature Rises, but Security Budgets Remain Tight” (https://www.darkreading.com/cybersecurity-operations/ciso-stature-rises-budgets-tight) included these comments:

Chief information security officers (CISOs) are being paid better than ever, more likely to be an executive — or report directly to an executive — and have expanding responsibilities. Yet tight security budgets continue to be a major challenge.

Overall, the top cybersecurity professional is doing well at large companies and has proven their value but continually has to work to link security to business opportunities rather than costs, according to two surveys published this week.

The average CISO at large US companies — those with revenue of $1 billion or more — has a current compensation of $532,000, including base salary, bonuses, and equity benefits, according to survey data published by cybersecurity consultancy IANS Research on May 29. Increasing responsibilities come with the high salaries, with CISOs now often charged with assessing business risk, product security, and digital strategy.

Great news for CISOs….