As we wrapped up the 2025 CISO Village Summit in the Florida Keys, news broke of a war between Israel and Iran. Many of us were far from home, trying to process the gravity of what was unfolding while surrounded by peers, friends, and teammates. It was a painful moment. One that made every conversation about resilience, leadership, and responsibility feel even more real. We didn’t ignore what was happening. We carried it with us. And it reminded us why this work matters so much.
Even before that moment, this year’s summit already felt different. We brought together over 100 CISOs, founders, and security leaders for three days of open, thoughtful, and sometimes vulnerable conversations. Half the room were first-time villagers, the other half had been with us before. That balance created something powerful. Not just a community, but a shared sense of purpose, to help each other lead through uncertainty, and to keep building toward a safer future.
Takeaway 1: Now Is the Time to Build in Cyber: AI Is Rewriting the Rules
Across almost every session, one theme came up again and again: AI has officially changed the game. Not in a few years. Not down the line. Now. From how threats are evolving to how teams are operating, AI is already reshaping the entire security landscape. And the shift isn’t theoretical. It’s tactical, practical, and happening fast.
CISOs shared how they’re rethinking detection, response, access control, and risk modeling in real time. They’re adjusting team structures, retraining talent, and questioning how legacy tools fit in an AI-native world. This isn’t just about keeping up, it’s about staying ahead, at a time when the pace of innovation is faster than ever, and the stakes are only getting higher.
At Team8, we’ve long believed that the gap between attackers and defenders has grown dangerously wide. With that, we also believe AI is the first real opportunity to close this gap.
With the right platforms, defenders can finally shift from reacting to anticipating. From silos to systems. From isolated alerts to intelligent, adaptive security. This shift won’t happen overnight, but the momentum is real and now is the time to double down.
The opportunity to create and invest in meaningful, durable cybersecurity solutions has never been greater. The need is clear, the technology is evolving, and the market is ready. We left the summit more convinced than ever: the next generation of great cyber companies will be built right now by founders who understand the complexity of the challenge, and who aren’t afraid to lead into it.
Takeaway 2: Community Is the Force Multiplier
This year, half the participants at the CISO Village Summit were ‘first-timers’. The other half were returning villagers who have shaped this community since day one. That mix created something rare, a space where fresh perspective meets shared trust. Where people could ask hard questions, admit what they don’t know, and share what they usually keep to themselves.
What stood out wasn’t just the depth of the content, but the quality of the connection. From early morning runs to late-night conversations by the firepit, people showed up fully. They shared real stories. The pressure they’re under. The mistakes they’ve made. The things that keep them up at night. And through that openness, something powerful happened: they found each other. Not just as peers, but as partners in the same fight.
In cybersecurity, it’s easy to feel isolated. But no one in that room left feeling alone. The Village is more than a conference; it’s a support system. A feedback loop. A testing ground. And as it keeps growing, it’s becoming one of the few places where leaders can let their guard down, get sharper together, and remind each other why this work matters.
Takeaway 3: Geopolitics Is Still a Big Factor in Enterprise Life
Even before the summit began, CISOs were already talking about geopolitics, the ongoing pressure from China’s gray zones, shifting U.S. trade policy, and the ripple effects of global instability. Then, on our final day together, the war broke out between Israel and Iran. It was a heavy moment, and for many in the room, deeply personal. It brought a sharp and sobering clarity to the conversations we were already having.
This wasn’t a new topic. It’s something security leaders have been navigating for years. But the frequency, complexity, and direct business impact of these developments are growing. Tariffs change supply chains. Conflict triggers phishing campaigns. Political shifts influence everything from compliance to cloud strategy. CISOs are at the center of it all, whether they signed up for it or not.
What we saw and heard at the summit made it clear: today’s security leaders are being asked to weigh in far beyond the boundaries of tech. They’re guiding decisions that touch markets, policies, and people. They’re operating across time zones, geographies, and threat surfaces. And they’re being looked to not just as defenders, but as steady hands in increasingly unpredictable environments.
Takeaway 4: Innovation Took the Stage – and the Spotlight
On the third day of the summit, we carved out half a day out of the packed agenda to spotlight 15 emerging cybersecurity startups. It could have been a side track. Instead, it became one of the most talked-about moments of the entire event. The energy in the room was electric, not just because of the ideas themselves, but because of how clearly they spoke to real, urgent problems CISOs are trying to solve right now.
These early-stage companies solving everything from identity risk and autonomous remediation to AI-native threat detection and quantum-resilient encryption. The founders came in sharp, focused, and open to feedback. And the CISOs showed up just as engaged, asking tough questions, offering insight, and in many cases, already scheduling follow-ups.
For us at Team8, it was a strong validation of something we’ve believed for a long time. innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum, it happens in the room where builders and practitioners can challenge each other, learn from each other, and move faster together. The summit made it clear: the appetite for fresh solutions is real, and the opportunity to build with impact has never been more alive.
Takeaway 5: From Reflection to Action: The CISO’s Evolving Mandate
Between the strategy sessions, keynotes, healing circles, and war room simulations, a deeper theme emerged: The mandate of a CISO are far much than to protect. They’re here to lead., be active and and to shape what resilience looks like in a world that refuses to slow down.
The conversations at this year’s summit were honest, and very much personal. We heard from leaders navigating burnout, guiding teams through layoffs, balancing AI disruption with optimism, and redefining their role inside the business. What stood out most wasn’t a new framework or tech breakthrough. It was a shared recognition that the CISO role is expanding and that the people in it are rising to meet that challenge.
In the age of AI-native infrastructure, digital workers, and autonomous agents, security leaders are facing a new kind of challenge. We heard CISOs share real concerns about oversight, drift, and accountability. What happens when an AI agent misinterprets intent? Who’s responsible when automation triggers a real-world impact?
The modern CISO is now part architect, part ethicist, part operator. They’re being asked to secure systems that think, act, and adapt, and to do so with transparency and trust. It’s a complex mandate, only expanding in scope and impact. But at the keys, we saw how this community is taking this moment to step up. To lead with clarity. To take ownership. To shape what comes next.
No one left the summit with all the answers. But many left with a stronger sense of purpose, sharper perspective, and real support behind them. The Village keeps growing — not just in numbers, but in depth. And that’s what gives us hope: not just in the challenges we face, but in the people choosing to lead through them.
Takeaway 6: Literacy Is the New Security Perimeter, The AI Masterclass
AI is no longer an emerging topic. It is quickly becoming foundational to how enterprises operate and how security teams must think. At the summit, we dedicated time to building real literacy around AI’s architecture, its risks, and its global impact.
We started with a technical primer on large language models and agents: how they’re trained, deployed, and orchestrated. From there, we expanded to the bigger picture — the geopolitics of the AI arms race, trade wars, chips, and the evolving AI supply chain.
We introduced a core thesis from Team8: AI agents are emerging as a new attack surface, supported by insights from Anthropic’s CISO, Jason Clinton. We also heard from the co-founder & CTO of Wiz on the journey of one of the fastest growing tech companies in securing the internal adoption of AI tools and AI systems, as well as securely embedding AI in their products.
To round out the masterclass, we turned to the CISOs in the room and surfaced the range of AI implementation already underway across leading organizations. We’ve learned that 90% of organizations are already introducing AI agents in 2025, with securing these agents emerging as the #1 unresolved challenge that CISOs are prioritizing this year.
The diversity of approaches reflected both the urgency and the complexity of securing this new frontier.
The takeaway was clear: AI is not just another capability to secure. It is a new operational layer, a dynamic, distributed, and often opaque layer. Understanding how it works is no longer optional. It’s now a core part of the CISO’s job.
Until Next Year
To the CISOs, founders, partners, and friends who made this summit what it was.
Thank you for showing up fully, for sharing openly, and for reminding us what leadership looks like when it’s grounded in purpose and community. The world isn’t getting simpler. But together, we’re getting stronger, sharper, and more aligned.
The Village doesn’t begin or end in the Keys. It’s something we carry with us, build on, and come back to stronger each time. Until next year.
Also, if you’re a CISO interested in joining the village, apply here!
