Survey emphasises critical importance of cyber-resilience
More than three quarters of organisations expect their cyber-budget to increase over the coming years — citing unpreparedness over increasing vulnerabilities.
That is according to PwC’s 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights survey, which questioned 4,042 business and tech executives from across 77 countries and territories.
Anthony Fellowes, a director at PwC Bermuda, said the survey emphasised the “critical importance of cyber-resilience in today's digital landscape”.
“The survey underscores that safeguarding against emerging risks is a collective effort, spanning from the boardroom to every individual employee.
“Accountability is key as we navigate evolving threats by embracing new technologies, adhering to foundational cybersecurity principles, and allocating resources to fortify the organisation's future,” he added.
• Seventy-seven per cent of those questioned expect their cyber-budget to increase over the coming year as only 2 per cent said their company has implemented cyber-resilience across their organisation
• Cyber-risks are top-of-mind: two thirds (66 per cent) of tech leaders rank cyber as their top risk for mitigation in 2024, compared with 48 per cent of business leaders
• The estimated cost of the average data breach is $3.3 million
• Cloud-related threats, hack-and-leak operations and third-party data breaches rank as the highest cyber-threats, according to leaders
• Four fifths of those surveyed have increased their investment in GenAI over the past 12 months and two thirds of security leaders state that GenAI has increased their attack surface over the past year
The survey found that only 2 per cent of companies surveyed had implemented cyber-resilience across their organisation, even as 66 per cent of tech leaders ranked cyber as the top risk their organisation was prioritising for mitigation over the next 12 months.
As organisations increasingly operate across digital platforms, 67 per cent noted that GenAI had increased their attack surface over the last year, the survey showed.
It also found that the top four most concerning cyber-threats — cloud-related threats, hack-and-leak operations, third-party breaches and attacks on connected products — were the same ones security executives felt least prepared to address.
Despite the clear threats and a lack of preparedness, the survey found that organisations were, nevertheless, taking action.
More than three quarters expected their cyber-budget to increase over the coming year, with nearly half of business leaders prioritising data protection and data trust as the top cyber-investment over the next year.
• For the full statement from PwC, see Related media
The 2025 Global Digital Trust Insights is a survey of 4,042 business and technology executives conducted from May to July this year.
A quarter of the executives surveyed were from large companies with $5 billion or more in revenues.
Respondents operated in a range of industries, including industrials and services, tech, media, telecom, financial services, retail and consumer markets, energy, utilities and resources, health, government and public services.
Now in its 26th year, it is the longest-running annual survey on cybersecurity trends.
It’s also the largest survey in the cybersecurity industry and the only one that draws participation from senior business executives, not just security and technology executives.
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