For years, cybersecurity progress has been measured by innovation. Faster detection. Better response. Smarter automation. And yet, real-world outcomes have failed to match the pace of technological advancement.
This gap between technological progress and outcomes has driven a predictable response: spend more. Global security and risk management spend has hit record highs, surpassing $200B annually and is on track to hit $240B in 2026 (Gartner). In some ways, this has compounded the problem. Increased investment in cybersecurity tools has added complexity without necessarily restoring control or reducing risk. Meanwhile, breaches continue to increase in frequency, cost, and organizational impact.
The problem is not insufficient innovation or investment. It is a lack of strategy, clarity, and leadership at scale.
Across the market, we see organizations with strong technology stacks struggle to understand whether controls are effective, how risk is changing, or how to clearly explain their security posture to executives, regulators, or insurers.
This is what we mean when we talk about the cybersecurity divide. It exists between large and small organizations, but also inside well-funded ones that lack effective governance and decision-making.
This market failure is exacerbated by a shortage of cybersecurity leadership, with only 1 in 10,000 organizations globally employing a CISO (Cybersecurity Ventures). Most organizations lack the strategic leadership to execute an effective cybersecurity program, while those that do have a CISO are operating in a threat landscape dominated by third- and nth-party risk, where collective resilience is only as strong as the weakest link.
An Underserved Market and Evolving Industry
The move from standalone products to Managed Detection and Response (MDR) was not just about adding a service layer. It was the recognition that most organizations did not have the resources or skills to run security operations effectively on their own. MDR done right brings a depth and breadth of SecOps to organizations, supported by automation, threat intelligence, and integrated platforms like Sophos Central. That shift materially improved outcomes.
But even with 24/7 detection and response, many organizations still struggle with upstream questions. How do we effectively manage evolving compliance frameworks? What should we be prioritizing? Which controls matter most for our risk profile? How do we prove progress over time? How do we translate security activity into business decisions? What is the ROI of this tool or my security spend as a whole?
According to Sophos research, 38% of organizations fell victim to a ransomware attack because they had a known security gap they had not yet addressed, while 32% of attacks begin with the exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities (Sophos).
The industry has learned how to scale operations. Now it must learn how to scale strategy.
Introducing Sophos CISO Advantage
Security technology has never been stronger. MDR, XDR, and Next-Gen SIEM have transformed how quickly threats are detected and contained. But technology and operations alone do not create an effective security program.
Without strategy, organizations confuse activity for outcomes. They struggle to prioritize, to demonstrate progress, and to communicate risk in a way that supports informed decisions. Strategy is what closes the loop between prevention, detection, response, and long-term risk reduction.
Sophos CISO Advantage closes that gap.
This is a new category of security solution, built to scale the knowledge and decision-making framework of a world-class CISO. It combines integrated technology, agentic AI, and active threat intelligence in Sophos Central with trusted human expertise delivered through Sophos extensive global network of managed services providers.
To accelerate this vision, Sophos has acquired Arco Cyber, an early innovator in continuous control validation and risk assurance. Arco Cyber’s capabilities strengthen our ability to deliver Sophos CISO Advantage by continuously assessing how well controls reduce real risk and by translating that insight into executive-ready narratives.
Organizations today face a complex challenge: assessing their security posture against multiple industry, national, and international frameworks, such as NIST CSF and NIS2. Sophos CISO Advantage removes this burden by aligning control and risk measurements to recognized standards. Leveraging agentic AI and automation, CISO Advantage rapidly highlights security gaps so risks can be mitigated proactively and enables organizations to demonstrate compliance with confidence. Continual, real-time assessment that reflects changes as they happen enables a culture of ongoing improvement to evolve from aspiration to reality.
This approach directly addresses market failures. Data from Arco Cyber shows that 90% of breaches stem from gaps in existing defenses, and 40% of cyber insurance claims are denied due to non-compliance with policy requirements.
For organizations with a CISO, Sophos CISO Advantage provides a more efficient and integrated way to manage risk, validate controls, and communicate progress. For those without one, it offers practical security leadership as a service, grounded in their real environment.
The goal is not just to feel secure. It is to be in control of security outcomes.
MSPs and MSSPs as the Force Multiplier
Just as MDR proved that security operations scale best through services, security leadership scales best through partners.
MSPs and MSSPs already sit at the intersection of technology, operations, and trust. Sophos CISO Advantage equips them to extend that role into governance, compliance, and risk management without adding unsustainable operational burden.
With AI-assisted assurance and clear, executive-ready reporting, Sophos partners can deliver CISO-level outcomes at scale, turning strategy into action for organizations that would otherwise go without.
Taking Back Control
The next phase of cybersecurity will not be defined by features alone. It will be defined by who can deliver measurable outcomes, at AI speed and scale, with credible governance and human judgment at the core.
MDR showed the industry how to scale operations. With Sophos CISO Advantage, we are focused on scaling the next layer: security strategy itself.
We are excited about what Sophos CISO Advantage will deliver for our customers and partners, and will share more details as we get closer to launch. Stay tuned.
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