Survey: 48% of Regulated-Industry Professionals Say Their Organization Experienced a Major Cyberattack
Summary
A Huntress-commissioned survey of 461 U.S. professionals in regulated industries found 48% reported a major cyberattack at their organization, while 93% expect one within a year. Respondents also reported preparedness and security staffing gaps.
Key points
- The survey found 48% of respondents said their organization had experienced a major cyberattack, such as ransomware or a data breach.
- 51% of respondents in banking or financial services reported a breach, compared with 39% in healthcare.
- 93% expect their organization to face a cyberattack in the next 12 months; AI-enhanced attacks, ransomware, and system disruption were common concerns.
- 52% said their organization was fully prepared for a major attack, while 49% said they lacked a dedicated internal cybersecurity team.
- 42% said their organization does not monitor cyber threats 24/7, and 45% said security tasks are deprioritized because of competing demands.
- Reported consequences included operational disruption, compromised data, legal or regulatory fallout, and direct financial loss.
- The survey was conducted for Huntress by Centiment from March 17 to April 14, 2026, with 461 qualifying U.S. technology or cybersecurity professionals.
Article Details
- Publisher
- Huntress
- Report Period
- Survey fielded 2026-03-17 to 2026-04-14
- Scope
- Survey of U.S. manager-level-or-higher technology or cybersecurity professionals at regulated-industry organizations.
- Sample Size
- 461 participants
- Key Statistics
- 48% of respondents said their organization had experienced a major cyberattack.
- 93% believed their organization would face a cyberattack in the next 12 months.
- 52% said their organization was fully prepared for major cyberattacks.
- 49% said their organization lacked a team dedicated to internal cybersecurity.
- 42% said their organization did not monitor cyber threats 24/7.
- Recommendations
- Train employees on security awareness.
- Employ dedicated cybersecurity experts.
- Mandate security measures beyond MFA.
- Protect identities with the same seriousness as endpoints.
- Ensure someone monitors for suspicious activity around the clock and can respond quickly.
People
Vendors
CentimentThe survey was conducted by Centiment on behalf of Huntress and fielded between March 17, 2026, and April 14, 2026. The findings are based on responses from 461 participants and have a margin of error of ±4.5% at a 95%Huntress"Human error factors into almost every major attack," says Brian Milbier, deputy CISO at Huntress. "That's not because people are careless. It's because attackers have gotten very good at looking legitimate."
Products
Huntress agentic cybersecurity platforma cyber threat sometime in the next year. Don't let your organization ignore the risks. Huntress agentic cybersecurity platform offers 24/7 AI-Centric monitoring from the Security Operations Center (SOC) that detectsMicrosoft 365Our platform combines a suite of powerful managed detection and response tools for endpoints and Microsoft 365 identities, science-backed security awareness training, and the expertise of our 24/7 Security Operations
Countries
Industries
accounting48% of professionals in highly regulated industries like health care, finance, accounting, and legal say their organization has experienced a major cyberattack, like a ransomware attack or data breach.financeHomeBlogHackers Frequently Target Healthcare and Finance Organizationsgovernment contractorsindustries, such as finance, insurance, accounting and tax, legal, medical, real estate, government contractors, or publicly traded companies.Healthcareat high risk of cyberattacks. Nearly half (48%) of professionals in highly regulated industries like health care and finance say their organization has experienced a major cyberattack, like a ransomware attack orInsuranceprofessionals holding a manager-level role or higher within regulated industries, such as finance, insurance, accounting and tax, legal, medical, real estate, government contractors, or publicly traded companies.LegalIt's vital that organizations with access to highly sensitive data have ironclad cybersecurity to protect that information. For these companies, a data leak could have serious ethical, legal, and regulatory implications.Medicalrole or higher within regulated industries, such as finance, insurance, accounting and tax, legal, medical, real estate, government contractors, or publicly traded companies.real estateor higher within regulated industries, such as finance, insurance, accounting and tax, legal, medical, real estate, government contractors, or publicly traded companies.