The CISO Storm: Why the Role Must Evolve into the Chief Digital Risk Officer
The Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) is at the center of the storm—a whirlwind of cyber threats, regulatory demands, digital transformation, and fragmented risk management practices. Once a purely technical role, the CISO has been forced into a high-stakes balancing act, trying to secure not just IT infrastructure but the entire digital ecosystem of modern enterprises.
Meanwhile, cyber risk has become the defining business risk of the digital age. Yet, most organizations still treat the CISO as an IT specialist rather than a true enterprise risk leader. The problem isn’t just how CISOs are perceived—it’s that they are stuck in a broken system.
Risk management is fragmented:
Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) lacks real-time cyber and technology risk integration.
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) is stuck in compliance-first thinking, detached from real-time risk mitigation.
Technology Risk Management (TRM) remains reactive, responding to threats rather than anticipating them.
Operational Risk Management (ORM) is blind to the cyber-physical risks that impact supply chains and business continuity.
CISOs are being pushed into the boardroom without the full authority, business alignment, or cross-functional integration needed to succeed. The answer is not to continue stretching the limits of the CISO role—it’s to evolve it entirely into something greater: the Chief Digital Risk Officer (CDRO).
The CISO’s Role Is Unsustainable—It Must Evolve
Cyber risk is no longer just a security issue—it is a business risk. That shift is already being felt in boardrooms.
The Deloitte Global Future of Cyber Survey (2024) found that only 52% of organizations trust their leadership’s ability to manage cybersecurity risks. More alarmingly, just 34% of executives responsible for cyber risk believe their organizations are adequately prepared for today’s threats.
The IANS Research and Artico Search Report (2025) highlights a dangerous gap between CISOs and senior leadership:
Many CISOs still struggle for direct board access, reducing their ability to influence strategic risk decisions.
Cyber risk is discussed in technical silos rather than integrated into broader enterprise risk conversations.
CISOs lack the cross-functional business acumen to translate cybersecurity into financial, regulatory, and operational terms.
The IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide further confirms that CISOs are being asked to take on responsibilities beyond their original scope—managing AI risk, digital supply chain security, regulatory compliance, and operational resilience—all while still being treated as IT specialists. This isn’t a sustainable model for risk leadership.
IRM: The Bridge That Enables the CISO-to-CDRO Evolution
For the CISO to successfully evolve into a CDRO, Integrated Risk Management (IRM) must serve as the bridge between security and business strategy. IRM brings together ERM, GRC, TRM, and ORM to create a unified risk management model in which cyber risk, regulatory compliance, operational resilience, and financial risk are interconnected.
Source: IRM Navigator™ Buyer Persona Guide, Wheelhouse Advisors
IRM’s four key business objectives—Performance, Resilience, Assurance, and Compliance—provide the framework for how the CDRO role fits into the broader risk function.
What the CDRO Must Own
As the CISO role evolves into the CDRO, their responsibilities will expand beyond cybersecurity to include:
Cyber-Physical Security: Managing digital risks across IT, IoT, industrial control systems, and AI-driven processes.
Regulatory Intelligence: Leading compliance with evolving global cyber regulations, including SEC disclosures and AI governance.
Digital Supply Chain Risk: Monitoring and securing third-party digital ecosystems to prevent operational disruptions.
Risk Quantification & Communication: Translating digital risk into financial and strategic business terms for the board.
By embedding IRM principles into these responsibilities, the CDRO ensures that digital risk is not managed in isolation but as part of the enterprise’s larger risk strategy.
The rise of the CDRO does not mean the CRO role becomes obsolete. Instead, large enterprises will need both roles working in tandem, ensuring that risk management is fully integrated across finance, operations, compliance, and technology. However, in small to mid-sized companies, the lines between the CDRO and CRO will blur, and the two roles may ultimately merge.
What’s clear is that the CISO cannot remain a standalone role in future risk management. The transformation into a CDRO is not optional—it is inevitable.
The Risk Leadership Tipping Point: Act Now or Be Left Behind
The storm has already hit, and the wreckage is everywhere:
Companies are facing more frequent and sophisticated cyberattacks than ever before.
Regulators are stepping in, forcing organizations to disclose cyber risk at a level never required before.
Boards are demanding more from CISOs than they can deliver under the fragmented model.
The old way of managing risk is already failing. CISOs who embrace the shift to CDRO will lead their organizations into the future, driving digital risk strategy and business resilience. CISOs who resist the change will become obsolete and replaced by leaders who understand cybersecurity, compliance, and operational risk and must be fully integrated into enterprise risk management. The future of risk leadership is digital. The only question is: Will today’s CISOs evolve, or will they be left behind?
References
IANS Research & Artico Search. (2025). The State of the CISO 2025 Report.
PwC. (2025). What’s Important to the CISO in 2025.
SecurityIntelligence. (2025). CISOs Drive the Intersection Between Cyber Maturity and Business Continuity.
Deloitte. (2024). Global Future of Cyber Survey, 4th Edition – The Promise of Cyber.
Wheelhouse Advisors. (2024-2025). IRM Navigator™ Reports Series – TRM (February 2025), GRC (July 2024), and ERM (October 2024) Editions, Buyer Persona Guide (October 2024).
