The CISO's Evolving Role: Protecting and Defending in the Agentic Era
Microsoft, Wednesday, October 28th, 2026
Microsoft says CISOs must secure an enterprise run increasingly by AI agents while modernizing defense against AI-enabled attackers.
Published for Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the post cites a 15-fold year-over-year increase in active agents in the Microsoft 365 ecosystem, and 18-fold in large enterprises.
More employees, many without coding backgrounds, now build AI systems with access to company data and applications, creating risk when access and behavior are not governed.
Microsoft describes two shifts for CISOs: protecting an enterprise that operates through AI and agents, and rethinking defense as attackers use AI to move faster.
The aims are to enable innovation without unmanaged risk and modernize defense while keeping security fundamentals.