ciso2 articles
US Cybersecurity Hiring Hits Four-Year Low, But AI Security Roles Are Bucking the Trend Hard
US cybersecurity job postings dropped 26.4% year-over-year to a four-year low of 235,786 between January and September 2026, with roles like Penetration Tester, Cyber Risk Analyst, and CISO seeing steep declines. However, AI-focused roles bucked the trend significantly, with AI Security Engineer demand surging 268.3% and Cyber Data Scientist demand growing 203.5%. Nearly 15% of all cybersecurity job postings now reference AI skills, with momentum increasing through the period and peaking at 20% in September 2026.
AI Agents Are Eating Security Budgets — and CISOs Still Don't Have the Guardrails to Show for It
Security leaders are struggling with two major AI-related challenges: updating outdated cybersecurity hygiene practices to address AI-enhanced threats, and managing the risks of over-privileged AI agents that may act beyond their intended scope due to imprecise instructions. A Team8 survey of senior CISOs found that AI and agent security is overwhelmingly their biggest pain point, cited by 78% of respondents. Tim Brown, Team8's CISO, recommends building guardrails into the agent development process and encouraging greater transparency and knowledge-sharing among security leaders to address these emerging risks without undermining business value.