--- title: "How many organizations have had a security incident or data breach involving AI? (21–29%) | The AI at Work Fact Book" description: "21 to 29 percent of organizations report a breach of or attack on their own AI systems; shadow AI was involved in 43 percent of breaches studied. IBM, Gartner, Microsoft and Cisco." url: "https://evy.so/facts/ai-security-breaches/" last_updated: "2026-10-16" --- F-27 · What Teams Trust # How many organizations have had a security incident or data breach involving AI? About one in five to three in ten organizations report a breach of, or attack on, their own AI systems in the past year: 21 percent of breached organizations in IBM's 2026 study and 29 percent in Gartner's 2025 survey. Employees' unapproved AI was involved in 43 percent of the breaches IBM studied, up from 20 percent. 21–29% of organizations report a breach of, or attack on, their own AI systems (2025 to 2026) - Medium confidence - 3 primary sources - 2025 to 2026 - Last checked October 14, 2026 ## Cite this EVY (2026). How many organizations have had a security incident or data breach involving AI? The AI at Work Fact Book, F-27. https://evy.so/facts/ai-security-breaches/ (last checked October 14, 2026). CC BY 4.0. Copy citation [Data as JSON](https://evy.so/facts/ai-security-breaches.json) [Markdown](https://evy.so/facts/ai-security-breaches.md) ## How to read it Keep three kinds of AI incident apart: attacks on an organization's own AI, incidents caused by employees' AI use, and attacks that use AI against the company, such as deepfakes. The range covers the first. IBM's sample includes only organizations that had a breach, so its shares are not of all organizations. Broad figures that mix all three run far higher (Cisco: 86% of leaders report any AI-related incident). All sources are vendor or analyst research. ## Every study on one scale Shaded: 21–29% One figure A range in one study Chart values as text - Scale: % of organizations with an AI breach or attack. Shaded range: 21–29%. - IBM and Ponemon (2026): 21% (13% a year earlier) - Gartner (2025): 29% infrastructure, 32% prompt attacks **Why medium confidence:** Two independent creators with different methods land close together, though IBM counts breaches among organizations that had one and Gartner counts attacks, successful or not. Both are commercial research, and no government statistic counts AI breaches yet. Studies without a figure on this scale are listed in the table only. ## Sources Sources for F-27 | Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026 | IBM and Ponemon Institute | 2026 | 602 organizations breached between March 2025 and February 2026; 3,558 interviews in 16 countries and regions | Interviews about one breach at each organization, so shares are of breached organizations. IBM sells security software and services. | 21% had a security incident involving their AI models or applications (13% in 2025); 92% of those lacked proper AI access controls; shadow AI involved in 43% of breaches (20% in 2025) “AI-related breaches grew to 21% this year from 13% last year.” | [ibm.com ↗](https://www.ibm.com/reports/data-breach) | | Gartner Survey Reveals GenAI Attacks Are on the Rise | Gartner | 2025 | 302 cybersecurity leaders in North America, EMEA and Asia/Pacific, March to May 2025 | Survey reported in a press release; attacks experienced, whether or not they succeeded. Gartner sells research. | 29% faced an attack on generative AI application infrastructure; 32% an attack using an AI application's prompt; 62% a deepfake attack “experienced an attack on enterprise GenAI application infrastructure in the last 12 months” | [gartner.com ↗](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-09-22-gartner-survey-reveals-generative-artificial-intelligence-attacks-are-on-the-rise) | | 2026 Data Security Index | Microsoft, survey by Hypothesis Group | 2026 | 1,725 data security leaders in 10 countries, July to August 2025 | Online survey; a share of incidents, not of organizations. Microsoft sells data security products. | 32% of organizations' data security incidents involve the use of generative AI tools “a third (32%) of data security incidents involve use of GenAI tools” | [marketingassets.microsoft.com ↗](https://marketingassets.microsoft.com/gdc/gdccYW33N/original) | Shadow AI ## How much do employees' unapproved AI tools add to breaches? More each year. Shadow AI, where workers use AI their employer has not approved, was involved in 43% of the breaches IBM studied in 2026, up from 20%. Those incidents averaged USD 5.39 million, against USD 4.99 million for a breach overall, and about one in five led to a regulatory fine. 68% of breached organizations lacked AI governance policies. Attacks using AI ## How many organizations face attacks that use AI? Most. 62% of organizations faced a deepfake attack in the past year (Gartner, 2025), and 86% of business leaders reported at least one AI-related security incident, a broad category that includes AI-written phishing (Cisco, 2025). The UK's official breaches survey does not yet ask about AI breaches; it finds that 24% of businesses using or considering AI have practices to manage its cyber risks. How many organizations face attacks that use AI? | Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index | Cisco | 2025 | 8,000 business leaders with security responsibilities in 30 markets, early 2025 | Double-blind survey; any AI-related incident, including attacks that use AI. Cisco sells security products. | 86% reported at least one AI-related security incident in the past 12 months “reported at least one AI related incident in the past 12 months” | [newsroom.cisco.com ↗](https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/dam/r/newsroom/en/us/interactive/cybersecurity-readiness-index/2025/documents/2025_Cisco_Cybersecurity_Readiness_Index.pdf) | | Cyber security breaches survey 2025/2026 | UK Department for Science, Innovation and Technology and Home Office | 2026 | 2,112 UK businesses and 1,085 charities, August to December 2025 | Official statistics, random probability survey | 24% of businesses using or considering AI have cyber security practices to manage AI risks “around a quarter of businesses (24%) and charities (27%) reported having cyber security practices” | [gov.uk ↗](https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/cyber-security-breaches-survey-20252026/cyber-security-breaches-survey-20252026) | ## Numbers you may have seen These figures circulate widely. Here is what the original source says. - **13% of organizations have had an AI breach (IBM).** IBM studies only organizations that had a breach, and the 13% was 2025. The 2026 edition reports 21%. - **97% of organizations lack AI access controls (IBM).** The 97% (2025) was of organizations that had an AI breach; it is 92% in 2026. Across all organizations studied, 40% use AI access controls. - **Shadow AI adds $670,000 to the cost of a breach (IBM).** That 2025 comparison was one of two analyses; the other gave about $200,000. In 2026 shadow AI incidents averaged $5.39 million against $4.99 million overall. - **86% of organizations have suffered AI security incidents (Cisco).** It counts any AI-related incident reported by leaders, including AI-enhanced phishing aimed at the company. It is not breaches of the company's own AI. - **99% of companies have lost money because of AI (EY).** EY's respondents were executives at firms above $1 billion revenue, reporting any loss from any AI risk, mostly regulatory and sustainability setbacks. ## More from What Teams Trust - [F-21**24–53%**How much do workers trust the output of AI tools at work?](https://evy.so/facts/trust-in-ai-output/) - [F-22**41–44%**How often do people check AI output before using it?](https://evy.so/facts/checking-ai-output/) - [F-23**17–45%**How often is AI output wrong on real work tasks?](https://evy.so/facts/ai-error-rates-at-work/) - [F-24**2–12%**Which work tasks do people want AI to do on its own, and which do they want to keep?](https://evy.so/facts/tasks-workers-want-ai-to-do/) - [F-25**30–44%**How many workers use AI in ways that break company policy?](https://evy.so/facts/ai-use-against-company-policy/) - [F-26**42–48%**How often do employees put company data into public AI tools?](https://evy.so/facts/company-data-in-public-ai/) [The whole chapter](https://evy.so/facts/what-teams-trust/) · [Chapter poster](https://evy.so/facts/what-teams-trust/sheet/) · [All of The AI at Work Fact Book](https://evy.so/facts/)