BlackFog: Personal Liability Concerns Impact 70% of Cybersecurity Leaders

San Francisco, CA, 12 December 2024 — BlackFog, the leader in ransomware prevention and anti data exfiltration (ADX), today unveiled its research conducted with UK and US IT Security decision makers¹ .

The research revealed that the majority of respondents, 70%, felt that stories of CISOs being held personally liable for cybersecurity incidents has negatively affected their opinion of the role.  Around a third of respondents, 34%, believed that the trend of individuals being prosecuted following a cyberattack was a ‘no-win’ situation for security leaders: facing internal consequences if they report failings and prosecuted if they don’t.

However, as cybersecurity leaders face increased scrutiny from regulators, the research also indicated that the increased accountability has led to internal changes to improve cybersecurity practices within their organization: 44% of respondents stated that their organization had already implemented processes to reduce their cybersecurity exposure, as a result.

The other key findings show: 

• 41% of respondents say the trend of cybersecurity leaders facing increased scrutiny and the potential of personal liability has made the Board take cybersecurity more seriously. This was higher amongst UK respondents, with 47% of security leaders in the UK agreeing it was given greater consideration as a result, versus 35% in the US.
• This has yet to translate into more resources, as only 10% of all respondents stated that this has resulted in additional money devoted to cybersecurity.

• Nearly half of all respondents, 49%, believe that the potential for an individual to be prosecuted following a cyberattack would improve accountability and transparency amongst cyber professionals. This was higher for respondents in the US (55%) compared with those in the UK (43%).
• When asked about the impact on the cybersecurity leaders of the future, however, only a small proportion of respondents, 15%, believed that it would be deterrent for IT professionals to become CISOs.

Commenting on the findings, Dr. Darren Williams, CEO and Founder, BlackFog said: “The role of the CISO is all about managing risk for the organization but, as regulations tighten, security leaders increasingly need to consider their own personal risk. High profile instances of individuals being charged will no doubt add to the pressures they feel but could also be a catalyst for Boards to support their leaders. Improvements to governance, clear lines of reporting and incident response procedures are vital, but this must be supported by allocated resources so that security leaders can implement the security measures they need.”

BlackFog is the category-defining vendor in anti data exfiltration (ADX). Founded in 2015, the company invented ADX on the thesis that the endpoint is the only control point capable of stopping data from leaving an organization, an architectural bet that has now been validated across three exfiltration vectors: ransomware, shadow AI, and autonomous AI agents. BlackFog’s endpoint-native platform protects more than 500 enterprises, government agencies, and critical infrastructure operators worldwide. The company is the publisher of the annual State of Ransomware report and the BlackFog/Sapio Shadow AI Research, the most-cited primary research in the category. BlackFog’s recognition includes the teiss Awards 2026, the AI Excellence Award 2026, the Cybersecurity Excellence Awards 2026, and the Cybersecurity Breakthrough Award. Headquartered in San Francisco with international operations in London and Belfast. Learn more at blackfog.com.

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¹ Methodology

The results from this survey are from an online survey Sapio Research fielded on behalf of BlackFog with IT Security Decision Makers in companies of over 500 employees across the UK (200) and US (200). The research was conducted in July 2024.