The 2026 Bitdefender Cybersecurity Assessment reveals significant discrepancies between organizations' awareness of cyber risks and their actual resilience capabilities. While there is broad acknowledgment of AI’s role in cybersecurity, many teams struggle to effectively reduce their attack surfaces and maintain visibility into AI usage, highlighting a critical sector challenge.
The 2026 Bitdefender Cybersecurity Assessment surveyed 1,200 IT and cybersecurity professionals across six countries. The assessment highlights a concerning gap between the awareness of cybersecurity risks and the ability to effectively address them operationally.
A notable insight from the assessment is the disparity between leadership and frontline practitioners regarding visibility into AI usage. While 51.8% of respondents claim full visibility, 47.4% report having partial or no visibility into Shadow AI, with managerial confidence outpacing factual observations.
The survey shows that, despite the acknowledgment of reducing the attack surface as a high priority, practical execution is lacking. Key obstacles include maintaining hardening policies (38%), fear of disrupting operations (35.4%), and resource limitations (34.6%). This indicates a broader trend where organizations recognize the need for improvement but struggle to implement effective strategies.
Although many organizations express a desire for transparency following a cyber breach, the survey results reveal that staff often face pressure to remain silent even when breaches are reportable. This contradiction raises concerns about organizational culture and accountability in cybersecurity practices.
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The 2026 Bitdefender Cybersecurity Assessment reveals significant discrepancies between organizations' awareness of cyber risks and their actual resilience capabilities. While there is broad acknowledgment of AI’s role in cybersecurity, many teams struggle to effectively reduce their attack surfaces and maintain visibility into AI usage, highlighting a critical sector challenge.