Dive Brief:
- Companies paid CISOs an average of almost 7% more in 2025 than they did in 2024, according to a recent report from IANS Research and Artico Search.
- Meanwhile, companies spent only 4% more on security, according to the Nov. 13 report.
- The research, based on interviews conducted between April and October with more than 560 CISOs in the U.S. and Canada, suggests that executive compensation has weathered the economic headwinds that have otherwise constrained security budgets.
Dive Insight:
The IANS/Artico report provides a variety of data points that illustrate the market’s view of cybersecurity’s importance as a C-suite issue.
For one thing, equity-based pay grew faster than traditional salary pay, a fact that IANS described in a statement as a reflection of companies’ recognition of cybersecurity’s “long-term strategic value.”
“CISOs have firmly established themselves as business leaders, not just security operators,” Nick Kakolowski, IANS’s senior research director, said in a statement. “Their pay stability this year reinforces how indispensable cybersecurity leadership has become to enterprise risk oversight, even when many organizations are tightening budgets.”
In another sign that companies value cybersecurity executives highly, they are expanding the range of perks they offer to these employees. More than 70% of CISOs now receive executive perks, according to the IANS/Artico report, including directors and officers (D&O) insurance, which protects their personal assets from lawsuits targeting their professional decisions.
“The market for top security talent is still competitive, but motivations are shifting,” Steve Martano, a partner at Artico’s cybersecurity practice, said in a statement. “We’re seeing more CISOs prioritize influence, visibility and culture over pure compensation.”
While overall CISO pay increased modestly, there was a vast disparity between the highest-earning CISOs and the rest of the pack. The top 1% of CISOs by pay earn more than $3.2 million annually, a figure that is roughly 10 times the median CISO pay and 20 times the bottom 10% of CISOs’ earnings. “This variability reflects the impact of organization size, industry and experience,” IANS said, “with Fortune 100 CISOs often far exceeding reported averages.”
The report also documented a six-year high in the number of CISOs switching jobs, with 15% of CISOs saying they changed employers in 2025, up from 11% in 2024. Interestingly, only half of the CISOs who switched jobs received pay increases at their new companies. “Those who stayed and took on expanded responsibilities saw the largest compensation gains,” IANS said, “an average increase of 8.1% compared to 5% among job switchers.”
