According to a new study from Gartner, 40% of boards will have dedicated cybersecurity committees by 2025.

The research firm said that less than 10% of boards today have such security committees but expects this to rapidly increase as boards seek to make changes in response to an increased threat landscape created by the expanded digital footprint of organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore, Gartner says that boards rank cybersecurity risks as the second-highest source of risk for the enterprise, behind regulatory compliance risk. In addition, few directors feel confident that their company is properly secured against cyberattacks.

Gartner Research Director Sam Olvaei, said that this trend is likely to change the relationship between a board and enterprise security leaders, along with putting increased scrutiny and pressures on the Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and Chief Security Officers (CSOs). That's not all bad news, however, as the research firm predicts that security executives will benefit from more support and resources. Gartner predicts that by 2024, 60% of CISOs will establish critical partnerships with key executives in sales, finance and marketing, up from just 20% today.