Security Report · github.com/jacobdjwilson

2026 Enterprise File Security Report Finds AI Widening Security Gaps

Nov 8, 2026 · Original Report (PDF) ↗

Summary

A survey of 254 U.S. organizations found a gap between self-assessed file security maturity and evidence from respondents’ answers. The report also finds rising concern about AI-driven file threats and limited confidence in current defenses.

Key points

Osterman Research surveyed 254 U.S. organizations in July 2026; the study was commissioned by OPSWAT and included organizations with at least 100 employees.
While 73.6% of respondents rated their file security posture very or extremely mature, the report’s evidence-based assessment found no organizations at the top two maturity levels; 85.8% showed no more than “somewhat mature.”
68.1% said cybercriminals were more focused on circumventing file security protections than 12 months earlier. Nearly 60% expect AI to make file security more difficult.
Concern about generative AI and LLM-related file threats rose by 105% across the report’s 24-month comparison; respondents also cited AI-generated threats designed to evade defenses and data leakage through public LLMs.
Respondents averaged 56.6% high or extreme confidence in preventing malware and other file-related threats, while 21.6% reported the highest confidence in detecting and preventing emerging file threats.
Among respondents reporting a file-related breach or incident in the prior two years, the average was eight incidents; the report estimates an average cost of $2.2 million. These are survey responses, not independently verified incident data.
The report recommends improving file-security solution deployment maturity and applying consistent policies across channels; respondents using a prevention-first approach showed higher extreme confidence in 8 of 10 situations.

Article Details

Publisher: Osterman Research; commissioned by OPSWAT
Report Period: Survey conducted July 2026; report published October 2026
Scope: Survey of enterprise file-security risks, practices, technologies, maturity, and incidents.
Sample Size: 254 organizations in the United States; participating organizations had at least 100 employees.
Key Statistics: 68.1% of respondents said cybercriminals showed growing interest in circumventing their organization’s file-security protections over the prior 12 months.
Average concern across six AI-driven file threats rose from 27.8% reporting high or extreme concern 12 months earlier to 49.3% anticipating that concern 12 months ahead, an average increase of 78.9%.
73.6% self-assessed their file-security posture as very or extremely mature, while 85.8% evidenced no more than “somewhat mature” security practices in the report’s analysis.
41.7% of respondents said their organization had a file-related data breach or cybersecurity incident involving unauthorized access to sensitive or confidential file data during the prior two years; those organizations reported an average of 8 incidents.
The reported average cost of data breaches or cybersecurity incidents over the prior two years was $2.2 million among organizations that acknowledged such incidents.
Recommendations: Deploy file-security solutions where they are missing and improve the maturity of solutions already in use.
Apply and enforce consistent file-security policies across employee channels, using a centralized policy hub or policy orchestration engine.
Strengthen protections against emerging threats, including AI-generated threats that may evade AI-powered defenses.
Evaluate prevention-first approaches, including content disarm and reconstruction.

Vendors

OPSWATCommissioned by OPSWAT

Countries

United StatesOsterman Research surveyed 254 organizations in the United States during July 2026.

Industries