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Cyber Risk Management Statistics 2025-2026: Key Data & Trends

This collection of statistics from the latest industry surveys and reports offers a clear, data-driven look into the current cyber risk landscape & how risk and security leaders are using technology to get ahead.

Third-Party Risk Management Statistics

Third-party cyber risk management is critical to organizational resilience. As third parties gain access to critical assets, businesses must be able to identify, prioritize, & manage vendors effectively.

Third-Party Cyber Risk Assessments

+100
44% of organizations assess more than 100 third parties each year.
(RiskRecon, The state of TPRM, 2024)
4%
Only 4% of organizations have high confidence that their third-party questionnaires match the reality of the third party risk. (RiskRecon, The state of TPRM, 2024)
4 out of 10
Nearly four in ten companies use multiple questionnaires for different risk domains and send an average of 55 questionnaires to third parties. (2025 EY Global Third-Party Risk Management Survey)

Third-Party Cyber Risk Challenges

57%
44% of organizations assess more than 100 third parties each year.
(RiskRecon, The state of TPRM, 2024)
24%
Only 4% of organizations have high confidence that their third-party questionnaires match the reality of the third party risk. (RiskRecon, The state of TPRM, 2024)
40%
Nearly four in ten companies use multiple questionnaires for different risk domains and send an average of 55 questionnaires to third parties. (2025 EY Global Third-Party Risk Management Survey)

Emerging Trends in TPCRM

One-Size-Fits-All Questionnaires Don't work

While organizations are investing heavily in third-party programs, the reliance on questionnaires and self-reporting is not delivering meaningful risk insights, leaving companies with low confidence in their third-party risk posture.

Wide Adoption of AI Tools

Insurers and companies alike are pushing for stronger third-party controls, better vendor prioritization, and more defendable risk data.

Using Technology to Scale

Quantitative third-party cyber risk management platforms can help organizations scale and prioritize their third-party controls with continuous monitoring and cyber threat intelligence.

AI in Business Statistics

AI is rapidly reshaping cyber risk management, offering powerful capabilities to detect threats, reduce breach impact, and automate security processes. However, these advancements also introduce new risks such as deepfakes and data poisoning that demand greater vigilance.

Strategic Use of Artificial Intelligence

≈100
Organizations extensively using security AI and automation identified and contained data breaches nearly 100 days faster on average than organizations that didn't use these technologies.
‍(IBM, Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024)
89%
89% of security leaders believe AI and machine learning are important for improving their security posture.
‍(Scale Venture Partners, Cybersecurity Perspectives 2024)
47%
47% of organizations are prioritizing AI-specific skilling of their existing workforce. (2025 Microsoft Work Trend Index Annual Report)

Employee Use of AI Tools

42%
42% of respondents said they turn to generative AI tools over colleagues because AI is available 24/7.
(2025 Microsoft Work Trend Index)
78%
78% of AI users are bringing their own tools to work, a trend known as Bring Your Own AI (BYOAI).
(Microsoft and LinkedIn, Work Trend Index 2024)
27%
27% of organizations who use gen AI say that employees review all content created by gen AI before it is used. (McKinsey Global Survey on AI 2024)

Emerging Trends for AI in Business

Data Integrity is a Central Factor

Poisoned datasets, unauthorized data exposure, or subtle manipulation can compromise model behavior, creating risks that are hard to detect and reverse.

Wide Adoption of AI Tools

Organizations are integrating AI tools across departments to boost productivity. This widespread adoption increases risks from shadow AI, as employees deploy unauthorized AI tools without proper oversight.

AI Policies and Governance

AI policies and AI governance frameworks will guide internal usage and help with compliance efforts for emerging AI regulatory requirements.

CISO Top Risk & Control Prioritization Statistics

CISOs face mounting pressure to demonstrate security value while managing increasingly complex threat landscapes. With limited resources and growing attack surfaces, security leaders must strategically prioritize controls that deliver maximum risk reduction and business protection.

Prioritization of Internal Controls

$258k
AI & machine learning driven insights were a mitigating factor in the average cost of a data breach, reducing the average cost by $258,538. (IBM, Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024)
66%
66% of CISOs in the US identified human error as the top cyber vulnerability for organizations.
(SOC Radar)
84%
84% of employees who received a phishing email took the bait within the first 10 minutes, replying with sensitive information or interacting with a fake link or attachment.
‍(CISA, Phishing Infographic)

Data Protection & Communication Challenges

46%
Nearly half of all breaches in 2024 involved personal identifiable information (PII), making it the most common type of data stolen or compromised.(IBM, Cost of a DataBreach Report 2024)
58%
58% of CISOs struggle to communicate technical language to senior leadership in a way that they can understand. (FTI CISO Redefined)
+45
In a survey of large organizations, security teams use an average of 45 cybersecurity tools.(Gartner Cyber Trends 2025)

CISO Risk Prioritization Trends

Support for Internal Training Programs

Security awareness training has become a critical investment as human error remains the top vulnerability.

Closing the Cybersecurity Communications Gap

CISOs are developing new approaches to translate technical risks into business language that resonates with executives and board members. This includes CRQ and creating dashboard-driven reporting that connects security investments to business outcomes.

Optimization of Cybersecurity Technology

Organizations are focusing on unified platforms and eliminating tool redundancies to improve efficiency and reduce complexity while maintaining comprehensive coverage.

Communicate to the Board Statistics

Boards are facing heightened scrutiny over how they oversee cyber risk, as both financial losses and regulatory expectations continue to rise. Recent surveys show directors are devoting more attention to the business impact of cyber incidents, seeking clearer metrics, and increasing their own education on cybersecurity issues.

Business & Financial Impact

4x
The size of extreme losses from cyber incidents has more than quadrupled (compared to 2017) to around $2.5 billion. And indirect losses like reputational damage or security upgrades are substantially higher. (IMF Global Financial Stability Report 2024)
12 months
Cyber-attacks topped the list of critical threats to organizations within the next 12 months, followed by geopolitical uncertainties and uncertain economic environment. (FERMA, Global Risk Manager Survey Report 2024)

Board Oversight & Cyber Awareness

77%
77% of boards now discuss the material & financial implications of a cyber incident (up 25 points since 2022). (NACD 2025 Public Company Board Practices and Oversight Survey)
47%
47% of executives believe it is very or extremely important that the board improves acquiring metrics to accurately measure and assess cyber security. (NACD 2025 Public Company Board Practices Oversight Survey)
€1 million fine
Individuals can face fines of up to €1 million for noncompliance with DORA requirements. (EU Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA)
+72%
72% of directors have undertaken cyber risk education or training in the past year, up from less than half in 2022.(NACD 2025 Board Practices & Oversight Survey)

Communication to the Board Trends

Cyber risk is now a primary board-level issue

Recent surveys show that security consistently ranks above geopolitical and economic factors as a leading concern for organizations and regulatory requirements put individual penalties on executives for non-compliance.

The scale of financial impact continues to increase

Extreme cyber incidents are associated with significantly larger losses than in previous years, with indirect costs often compounding the effect.

Board oversight is becoming more data-driven

Directors are giving greater attention to the financial implications of cyber incidents and emphasizing the need for clearer reporting and reliable metrics, which is also influenced by regulatory requirements.

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