Is AI Forcing Organisations to Rethink Cyber Resilience?
AI is a double-edged sword when it comes to cybersecurity.
On one hand, it is reshaping the landscape by introducing transformative opportunities.
On the other hand, however, unprecedented risks are arising.
Research by LevelBlue — a joint venture between WillJam Ventures and US multinational telco giant AT&T — says while business leaders recognise the inevitability of AI-powered cyber threats, most remain unprepared to defend against them.
The 2025 LevelBlue Futures Report
To gauge cyber readiness and attitudes, LevelBlue surveyed 1,500 C-suite and senior executives from 14 countries and seven industries:
- Energy and utilities
- Financial services
- Healthcare
- Manufacturing
- Retail
- Transportation
- US SLED (state, local government and higher education)
According to the 2025 LevelBlue Futures Report, only 29% of executives feel prepared for AI-driven attacks, even though nearly half, or 42%, anticipate such incidents in the near future.
LevelBlue says: “Computing is advancing at blistering speeds. With so much change, there must be a balance of innovation and risk – this means aligning the priorities of the line of business and cybersecurity.
“We discovered that AI is a disrupting force in 2025, but only 29% of leaders admit they are prepared for AI-powered threats.”
Deepfakes and synthetic identity attacks are among the top concerns, with just 32% of leaders believing their organisations are ready to counter deepfake threats, despite 44% expecting them to occur.
As AI enables more sophisticated and convincing cyberattacks, 59% of executives admit that employees are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish genuine threats from benign activity.
“In 2025, AI is forcing organisations to pivot once again,” says Theresa Lanowitz, Chief Evangelist at AT&T Cybersecurity and LevelBlue.
“Our research shows that leaders are becoming more aware of the threats they face and elevating cyber resilience measures accordingly.
“However, they still underestimate the potential risk of AI-powered cyberattacks and have extensive work ahead to properly prepare and protect themselves.”
Explained: The reluctance and readiness gap
Despite the concerns laid out in the report, reluctance to adopt AI tools due to cybersecurity risks is surprisingly low with just 29% of executives expressing hesitation.
But what does this suggest? The pace of innovation is moving forward at pace, but security strategies lag behind.
It also underscores the paradox that organisations face: the drive to innovate with AI is outpacing the development of robust defenses against the very threats AI can generate.
Encouragingly though, the concept of cyber resilience is gaining traction at the highest levels, according to the report.
Over the past year, the proportion of executives who see cyber resilience as a company-wide priority has risen from 27% to 45%.
Two thirds report that cybersecurity teams are now aligned with business units, and 43% of leaders in cyber-resilient organisations say boardroom engagement in resilience discussions is increasing.
This alignment is critical, as 79% of cyber-resilient organisations believe their adaptive cybersecurity approach enables greater innovation and risk-taking.
LevelBlue’s four steps for cyber resilience
The LevelBlue Futures Report recommends four specific steps to best achieve cyber resilience.
- Push cyber resilience up the organisation
- Embed cybersecurity responsibilities throughout the organisation
- Be proactive rather than reactive
- Prioritise resilience in the software supply chain
This advice, coupled with the report, paints a clear picture: while organisations are excited about AI’s potential, they must accelerate efforts to understand and mitigate the risks it brings.
Cyber resilience is no longer just an IT concern, but a business imperative.
By aligning leadership, investing in proactive defenses and embedding resilience throughout the enterprise, organisations can better prepare for the next wave of AI-powered threats and continue to innovate with confidence.
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