Gigamon Hybrid Cloud Security Survey Reveals CISOs’ 2026 Security Strategies: Metadata Emerges as Cornerstone of Cyber Defense

86 percent of global CISOs identify metadata as essential to gaining the complete visibility today’s organizations require

Santa Clara, Calif. – Oct. 7, 2025 — Gigamon, a leader in deep observability, today released new research revealing how global CISOs are reshaping 2026 cybersecurity strategies as they seek to effectively secure and manage hybrid cloud infrastructure in the AI era.

AI is regarded as the most transformational technology to date, impacting everything from how businesses innovate to how adversaries operate. As a result, the more than 200 global CISOs surveyed across Australia, France, Germany, Singapore, the UK, and the US are shifting how they manage data, secure AI applications, and evolve their SecOps teams.

The report, “CISO Insights: Recalibrating Risk in the Age of AI,” reveals that as AI accelerates digital transformation and intensifies cyberattacks, data visibility and quality have become mission critical to defending hybrid cloud infrastructure. To keep pace, CISOs now need to gain a deeper level of insight, as increasing traffic volumes add complexity. Packet-level data paired with metadata was cited by 86 percent of CISOs as essential in strengthening security posture today and the key to gaining complete visibility, with metadata offering a scalable way to surface critical signals from rapidly expanding data flows.

Visibility: The Top Priority, Yet Often the Compromise

CISOs reported their top priority to optimize defense-in-depth strategies is real-time threat monitoring and visibility into all data in motion. Yet nearly all (97 percent) CISOs surveyed admit that they are making compromises in the areas of visibility gaps, tool integration, and data quality, all of which hinder their ability to effectively secure and manage hybrid cloud environments. 

“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 and Data Volumes Reshape Security

According to the survey, AI data volumes have nearly doubled, rapidly expanding the threat surface and impacting the way CISOs manage and store data across virtual, cloud, and container environments. As a result:

• 75 percent of CISOs believe that public cloud is a greater security risk than any other environment, causing many organizations to rethink their data storage strategy. 
• 73 percent of CISOs report they are considering repatriating public cloud data to private cloud due to security concerns, a significant change since the migration to public cloud started early two decades ago. 
• 52 percent report they are reluctant to use AI in the public cloud due to issues around intellectual property, highlighting the compliance, control, and shadow AI challenges they face due to limited visibility.

These data challenges have extended beyond a technical imperative, now moving to a strategic business imperative, as 70 percent report that public cloud security is now a board level priority.

CISOs Reprioritize Strategies to Secure AI 

Nearly 1 in 5 CISOs are not confident they have the right tools to manage the rising volumes of network data generated from AI, highlighting a critical gap, as existing log-based tools weren’t designed to defend against AI-powered attacks. To better manage data volumes fueled by AI:

• 52 percent of CISOs say a top priority for the next 12 months is leveraging network and application metadata to make existing tools more effective.
• 46 percent are ensuring visibility across all data-in-motion.
• 1 in 3 are implementing guardrails around large language models (LLMs) to mitigate exposure to emerging risks.

AI’s Impact on Security Teams

Data breaches are on the rise, with a 17 percent year-over-year increase in breaches. CISOs are feeling the pressure, with nearly half (45 percent) citing they are the primary person held accountable when a security breach occurs. 

Another top concern cited by CISOs is the increased level of stress and burnout within their teams. As a result, CISOs are embracing AI:

• 45 percent of CISOs are leveraging AI tools to enhance their internal security team's capabilities and productivity.
• Facing a global shortage of skilled professionals and reduced budgets, 73 percent of CISOs are also considering AI to compensate for decreasing headcount, clearly demonstrating that AI is seen as both a necessity and an opportunity.

With new AI technologies becoming available, teams will also be able to leverage AI to equip junior analysts to perform at the level of seasoned experts while helping teams reduce training costs, accelerate root cause analysis, and strengthen overall threat visibility.

Deep Observability: The Key to Unlocking Secure AI

According to the report, 82 percent of CISOs state that deep observability, bringing together network-derived telemetry and log data across hybrid cloud environments, is a foundational element of secure and efficient AI deployments. It enables security teams to close visibility gaps, improve threat detection, and ensure AI tools are operating on trusted data.

For More Information

• Get the report, “CISO Insights: Recalibrating Risk in the Age of AI”
• Learn more about the AI capabilities of the Gigamon Deep Observability Pipeline by visiting gigamon.com/ai

About Gigamon

Gigamon^® offers a deep observability pipeline that efficiently delivers network-derived telemetry to cloud, security, and observability tools. This helps eliminate security blind spots and reduce tool costs, enabling you to better secure and manage your hybrid cloud infrastructure. Gigamon serves more than 4,000 customers worldwide, including over 80 percent of Fortune 100 enterprises, 9 of the 10 largest mobile network providers, and hundreds of governments and educational organizations. To learn more, please visit gigamon.com.

Disclaimer: Gigamon Insights is still in development. The development, release, and timing of any product, feature or functionality described in this release is at the sole discretion of Gigamon, is subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be relied upon in making purchasing decisions. 

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