This presentation draws on a 2026 survey and interview series with 27 cybersecurity leaders in the Netherlands to show how CISO priorities are evolving under pressure from regulation, AI, operational complexity, and growing reliance on cloud and third parties. The findings reveal a shift away from traditional control-focused security toward stronger auditability, resilience, monitoring maturity, and practical governance. For example, many CISOs are placing greater emphasis on regulatory readiness, AI governance, and resilience, while expressing concern about issues such as compliance failure, AI-enabled attacks, third-party exposure, and data leakage. A central theme is the gap between ambition and execution: organizations want stronger governance and more scalable controls, but often face limited staff, fragmented evidence management, and immature AI guardrails. Attendees will leave with a practical, evidence-based view of where CISOs are focusing and what will matter most for security strategy and governance in 2026 and beyond.
