What Is the Biggest AI Security Problem for CISOs in 2026?

Securing AI agents and their access. In Open Future Forum's August 2026 security data, 58 percent of senior security leaders name agent security as the biggest AI security problem on their desk (26 of 45), more than twice the next answer, shadow AI at 27 percent.

The ordering matters: the top two problems are governance problems, not adversary problems. The attack surface CISOs rank first is the one their own organizations create, agents holding credentials and permissions, and tools adopted without approval. AI-powered attacks rank fourth at 13 percent, and only 9 percent of security leaders say nothing urgent is on the desk.

Full data: CISO AI Leverage Report, August 2026.

CISOs work these problems off the record at the CISO Executive Forum roundtable dinners; the next is August 27, 2026, in Los Altos Hills.