New Nordic CISO Report from Truesec: Nordic Organizations View Cybersecurity as Business-Critical in the New Threat Landscape

Truesec today released its new Nordic CISO Report 2026, a comprehensive report based on in-depth interviews with Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) from leading Nordic organizations across both the private and public sectors.

The report shows that cybersecurity has become a core business and board-level issue, while AI and an increasingly complex threat landscape are creating a new type of asymmetry between attackers and defenders.

The findings reveal that Nordic organizations have significantly strengthened their cyber resilience over the past two years. The number of severe cyber incidents has stabilized despite increasing threat activity. At the same time, CISOs report that the speed, complexity, and automation of attacks are changing the game faster than ever before.

“We are entering an era beyond human speed. AI is not only changing how attackers operate, but also the speed and scale at which they can act. The ability to understand business risk, make fast decisions, and build organizational resilience will be critical,” says Rolf Rosenvinge, Chief Strategy Officer at Truesec.

The report is based on interviews conducted during spring 2026 with CISOs from organizations across the Nordic region. The study analyzes developments in the threat landscape, governance, investments, security capabilities, AI, and cybersecurity talent.

Five Key Insights for Nordic Organizations

1. Cybersecurity Is No Longer Just About Protecting Systems — It’s About Protecting the Business

CISOs are shifting focus from protecting individual systems to safeguarding business-critical processes, supply chains, and revenue streams. Boards and executive teams are increasingly expected to understand cyber risk as a business risk.

2. AI Is Creating a New Asymmetry Between Attackers and Defenders

AI is being used to accelerate phishing campaigns, identity-based attacks, and vulnerability exploitation. Time to Exploit has dropped dramatically — from 53 days in 2024 to just 2.4 days in 2026. Organizations must therefore invest in faster detection, automation, and incident response capabilities.

3. Boards Must Focus on Recovery Capabilities — Not Just Prevention

Many CISOs now operate with an “assume breach” mindset. Disaster recovery, business continuity, and the ability to rapidly restore operations after an attack are becoming increasingly important factors in competitiveness and survival.

4. Regulatory Requirements Are Making Cyber a Leadership Issue

NIS2, DORA, and upcoming EU regulations are shifting accountability to executive management and boards of directors. The report shows that CISOs now have more frequent dialogue with CEOs and boards than before, while the need for risk-based decision-making continues to grow.

5. More Stable Incident Levels Despite Rising Threat Activity

The report shows that only 9% of interviewed CISOs say the number of severe cyber incidents has increased over the past two years, compared with 53% in the 2024 report. At the same time, the majority report a sharp increase in the number of smaller incidents and attack attempts, indicating improved detection capabilities and faster response times.

About the Report

Nordic CISO Report 2026 is a qualitative study based on anonymized interviews with CISOs from Nordic organizations across multiple industries and sectors. The report examines topics including the threat landscape, governance, security investments, AI, compliance, and future cybersecurity challenges.

About Truesec

Truesec is an international cybersecurity company with a mission to prevent breaches and minimize their impact. We deliver managed security services, advisory, and incident response to organizations facing advanced cyber threats.

With the largest Security Operations Center (SOC) in the Nordics and more than 120,000 hours of incident response, we are a leading provider of cyber resilience. Today, Truesec has more than 400 cybersecurity specialists. Learn more at Truesec.com.

Download your copy of the report.