AI is the New Insider Threat
Manufacturing Data Threat Report Finds 67% of Organizations Rank AI as Top Data Security Risk
The 2026 Data Threat Report Manufacturing examines key challenges faced by Manufacturing organizations, including the fast proliferation of AI-driven cyberattacks targeting personnel, cloud storage, supply chain, and identity infrastructure. AI adoption by manufacturing organizations has also introduced significant insider risks stemming from rapid operational and ecosystem changes. As always, the Data Threat Report encourages and equips security leaders to build stronger alliances spanning their own organizations and partner ecosystems to achieve broader enterprise goals.
This research was based on a segment of 417 security and IT executives working for manufacturers of all types including durable manufacturing (e.g. automotive, electronics, and machinery) and non-durable (e.g. chemicals, paper), in 20 countries.
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Key Findings
Security priorities are changing with AI
67% of manufacturers expressed concerns about rapid change in AI ecosystems, their top AI security risk.
83% have invested in specific security tools or services due to concerns about AI.
61% have experienced deepfake attacks and a majority suffered reputational damage as AI-fueled attacks emerge as a prominent threat.
Data protection is critical in the AI age
Only 31% of manufacturers said they have complete knowledge of where their data is stored.
Less than half of sensitive data in the cloud is encrypted. 42%
Rising geopolitical risk is reshaping data sovereignty
53% are pursuing reworking and refactoring of application and data architectures as their main focus in achieving sovereignty objectives.
39% believe cryptographic protections such as encryption and key management are sufficient to achieve data sovereignty.
Complexity limits clear insight into data security posture
83% of manufacturers have five or more data protection tools.
42% have five or more key management systems.
Future risks are here today
59% say future encryption compromise is the top quantum computing concern for manufacturers.
61% are prototyping and evaluating post-quantum cryptographic (PQC) algorithms.
Cloud is a significant attack target
36% cloud storage, 29% cloud-delivered SaaS applications and 26% cloud management infrastructure are the top targets for attackers.
Credential theft is the leading attack technique against cloud infrastructure – 57% are seeing credential theft and misappropriated secrets increasing.
