Gigamon Report: CISOs Recalibrate Cybersecurity Strategies to Secure AI and Hybrid Cloud Environments

Gigamon recently released new research highlighting how global CISOs are reshaping cybersecurity strategies for 2026 as they work to secure hybrid cloud infrastructure and manage growing AI complexity.

The report, “CISO Insights: Recalibrating Risk in the Age of AI,” surveyed more than 200 CISOs across Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and the US. It finds that as AI accelerates digital transformation and expands the threat surface, data visibility and quality have become critical to defending hybrid cloud environments.

Visibility: Mission Critical Yet Often Compromised

While real-time threat monitoring and full visibility into data-in-motion ranked as top priorities for CISOs, nearly all respondents (97%) acknowledged making compromises in visibility, tool integration, or data quality. These gaps limit their ability to manage risk across complex, multi-cloud infrastructures.

To strengthen their defenses, 86% of CISOs cited packet-level data paired with application-rich metadata as essential to achieving full visibility. Metadata offers a scalable method to surface key security insights from exponentially growing network traffic.

“Looking ahead to 2026, AI remains both one of the biggest challenges and most exciting opportunities for CISOs,” said Chaim Mazal, Chief AI and Security Officer at Gigamon. “The rise in AI-driven ransomware, social engineering, and the unchecked spread of shadow AI is placing security leaders on the defense, which is why our survey shows visibility has become their top priority.

At the same time, AI offers a powerful way to augment security teams, restore visibility and control, and reshape how organizations structure and resource their defenses, ultimately paving the way for stronger security.”

AI Complexity Redefines Cloud Security

AI-driven data growth is reshaping how CISOs manage and store information across cloud, virtual, and containerized environments. The study found that:

• 75% view public cloud as their highest-risk environment.

• 73% are considering repatriating data from public to private cloud due to security concerns.

• 52% hesitate to use AI applications in the public cloud over intellectual property and compliance risks.

• 70% report that public cloud security has now become a board-level priority.

CISOs Shift Priorities to Secure AI Workflows

With log-based tools unable to keep pace with AI-fueled data volumes, nearly one in five CISOs lack confidence that their current tools can manage the scale of network telemetry needed to defend against AI-powered threats.
To adapt, CISOs are prioritizing:

• Leveraging network and application metadata (52%) to strengthen existing tools.

• Achieving complete data-in-motion visibility (46%).

• Implementing LLM guardrails (33%) to reduce emerging AI risks.

AI’s Dual Role: Security Tool and Workforce Multiplier

Cyber incidents continue to climb—breaches rose 17% year-over-year—with 45% of CISOs personally held accountable for security failures. To manage rising demands amid staffing shortages, CISOs are turning to AI for support:

• 45% are adopting AI tools to enhance team productivity.

• 73% view AI as a means to compensate for reduced headcount.

AI-assisted analytics are also enabling junior analysts to perform at more advanced levels, reducing training costs, accelerating investigations, and improving threat visibility.

Deep Observability: Foundation for Secure AI

The report concludes that 82% of CISOs identify deep observability—correlating network-derived telemetry with log data across hybrid environments—as foundational to securing AI deployments. This approach enables teams to close visibility gaps, improve detection efficacy, and ensure AI systems operate on trusted, high-integrity data.