PwC Survey Finds Organizations Unprepared for AI and Quantum Cyber Threats
Summary
PwC’s survey of nearly 4,000 business and technology leaders finds many organizations are unprepared for attacks on AI systems and are slow to adopt AI defenses and quantum-resistant security.
Key points
- The survey covered nearly 4,000 business and technology leaders in more than 70 countries.
- Respondents said they were least prepared for attacks on their AI systems, including autonomous botnets, adversarial attacks, and data poisoning.
- Only 22% would allow AI agents to conduct cyber defense fully autonomously; reliability and maturity concerns were the main stated barrier.
- Fifty-eight percent ranked AI as their top cyber budget priority, and 84% of security and finance leaders expected budgets to increase.
- Responsibility for AI security is divided: 29% assigned it to technical leadership, 26% to a dedicated AI leader or function, and 17% to the CISO or cyber function.
- The article warns that attackers may steal encrypted data now for future decryption as quantum computing advances; only 21% of survey participants were implementing quantum-resistant security measures.
Article Details
- Publisher
- SecurityWeek
- Report Period
- PwC’s 2027 Global Digital Trust Insights report
- Scope
- Global organizational readiness for AI-related cyber threats, cybersecurity defenses, and quantum-resistant security measures
- Sample Size
- Just short of 4,000 businesses and technology leaders in more than 70 countries
- Key Statistics
- 53% of respondents identified compromise by autonomous botnets as a primary AI-system threat they were unprepared to defend against.
- 84% of security and finance leaders expected cybersecurity budgets to increase.
- 58% ranked AI as their top cybersecurity budget priority.
- Only 21% of survey participants were implementing quantum-resistant security measures.
- Only 22% of leaders said they would use fully autonomous AI-agent execution for cyber defense without human approval.
- Recommendations
- Replace current encryption with quantum-resistant cryptography to prepare for future quantum decryption threats.
- Protect corporate data with encryption.
- Maintain a strong cybersecurity foundation, including secure data, operational continuity, clear accountability, and strong cyber hygiene.