Cybersecurity, only six out of a hundred companies are able to defend themselves

Data, if interpreted correctly, can very accurately delineate a trend or phenomenon. And that which sees only six out of a hundred companies (on a global scale) declaring themselves actually able to defend themselves against a cyber attack belongs to this category. PwC's Global Digital Trust Insights 2026, a wide-ranging survey on digital security conducted last summer on some 3,900 business executives from 72 countries (including Italy) tells us that, in a scenario marked by geopolitical uncertainties and rapid technological evolution, artificial intelligence represents the 'new' strategic frontier for cybersecurity. If we look at our country, in fact, 69% of the companies surveyed (the global average rises to 78%) plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets over the next twelve months, and one in three (32%, against a total of 36%) will invest in AI, which is considered a priority compared to cloud security and traditional data protection technologies. But while the willingness to invest is on the rise, awareness of the risks remains partial and is mirrored in the tiny 6% of organisations (the percentage for Italy is similar) that say they feel fully prepared to counter the threats.

The most obvious vulnerabilities that worry the I.C.E. and top management are in fact well known (the voice of authentication and access controls stands out at the top, cited in 55% of cases on a global scale and by one manager in three in Italy), ranging from the still consistent presence of legacy systems to the fragile defences of the supply chain, and together they form a picture that highlights the need for a change of pace, not only technological but also cultural. Also because on the horizon, in addition to the complexities inherent to the pervasive advent of AI, threats linked to quantum computing are already looming: only 24% of Italian companies (26% worldwide) now consider them a real risk and almost half have not yet considered adopting 'quantum-resistant' security measures. Much attention, on the other hand, is paid to assessing the economic damage caused by cyber incidents. On a global scale, 27% of organisations have suffered breaches exceeding the million-dollar threshold in the last three years, while in Italy this percentage drops to 19% and is also explained by the smaller size of digital infrastructures. "We are at a turning point," said Giuseppe D'Agostino, Cybersecurity & Resilience Partner at PwC Italia, "because new technologies and an interconnected global ecosystem have radically changed the threat landscape. For this reason, cybersecurity must be integrated into the governance, processes and culture of the organisation itself, and cyber resilience becomes a fundamental asset'.

Investing in security is no longer synonymous with reacting to attacks, but with the ability to anticipate their effects. Companies, the PwC expert goes on to explain, 'must prioritise artificial intelligence and the development of the necessary skills, training and retraining professionals to proactively deal with future risks'. In this sense, the report tells us that automated security solutions are used by about half of the companies surveyed (48% globally and 47% by Italian companies) and that artificial intelligence and machine learning tools are already widely used (in 53% and 41% of cases respectively).

On the other hand, there is a clear skills problem: only 31% of domestic companies say they invest in training and refresher programmes (the overall average is 47%) and as many as 62% of our business leaders (47% of the global sample) report a shortage of talent specialised in securing OT (Operational Technology, the computers that govern plants) and IoT systems. The problem of insufficient skills is also such in the ability to apply AI to cybersecurity, with 39% of Italian companies reporting shortages in this direction and 48% reporting difficulties in finding qualified professionals.