Cybersecurity Teams Overwhelmed as Attacks Surge and Budgets…

Event summary

38% of European IT and cybersecurity professionals report more attacks in 2026 than 2025, yet 56% of teams remain understaffed and 55% underfunded.
72% of cyber professionals say their job is more stressful now than five years ago, citing complex threats, unrealistic expectations, and insufficient training.
AI adoption in cybersecurity is rising, with 37% of organizations using AI for threat detection and response, up 8 percentage points from 2025.
71% of organizations have not conducted any AI-related incident response exercises, despite AI-enabled attacks becoming more prevalent.

The big picture

The widening gap between rising cyber threats and stagnant cybersecurity budgets is pushing teams to their limits. As AI transforms both offensive and defensive capabilities, governance and preparedness must keep pace to prevent catastrophic breaches. The strategic anomaly lies in the disconnect between the growing complexity of attacks and the lack of investment in preventive measures and workforce development.

What we're watching

Governance Dynamics: Whether organizations will prioritize AI governance as adoption accelerates, given the lack of preparedness for AI-related incidents.
Execution Risk: The pace at which companies will address cybersecurity workforce shortages and burnout to improve resilience.
Strategic Shifts: How C-suites will reallocate budgets from crisis response to proactive cybersecurity measures and workforce development.