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      Cybersecurity is back at the top of UK CEOs’ agendas

      89% of UK CEOs are concerned about their organisation’s vulnerability to cyber-attacks. 

      UK CEOs are increasingly concerned about the cyber threats they face. Almost half (48%) are extremely concerned about their vulnerability to cyber-attacks, seeing it as a top leadership priority. A further (41%) say they’re actively looking to manage the risk of cyber-attacks. They’re even more concerned about identity theft and data privacy (98%).

      Some 82% of UK CEOs say cybercrime and cyber insecurity will impact their organisation’s prosperity over the next three years. It follows then, that cybersecurity and digital risks resilience is their no. 1 investment priority for mitigating pressing business risks.

      Cybersecurity needs to be at machine speed

      #3 biggest challenge to implementing AI: cybersecurity.

      There are a number of factors that may have exacerbated concerns about cyber risk. There’s continuing geopolitical instability and growing talk of sophisticated cyber campaigns being launched by nation states. Then there’s the threat posed by AI.

      Cybersecurity is the third biggest challenge to implementing AI (after ethical considerations and cost), with 54% of UK CEOs finding it challenging.

      The use of frontier AI platforms by cyber criminals means attacks are much faster and more damaging to organisations. AI can expose a vulnerability and exploit it at speed. Where previously, it might have taken weeks or months to find a vulnerability, research it and then devise a way to exploit it, AI can do it within hours.

      The answer?

      Shorten patch cycles through the use of AI and include LLM tooling in your remediation.

      Take a zero-trust approach, where you verify every user – even the ones inside your internal network – by securing identities, especially of IT staff.

      Think cyber resilience – no defence is impenetrable. Build in robust scenario planning so that you’re as prepared as you can be. And use that intelligence to roll out processes and training that enable you to recover quickly.

      Frontier AI means attacks are going to come at you faster. That means you need to defend at speed – at the same pace as the attackers, using the AI platforms. Taking a zero-trust approach helps.
      Del Heppenstall, Head of Cyber Security, KPMG UK
      Del Heppenstall

      Head of Cyber Security

      KPMG in the UK

      Start the conversation on cybersecurity

      Use the findings from our CEO Outlook to start conversations around the big questions facing your organisation’s approach to cybersecurity:

      • Do we know where our biggest cyber exposures are and where to invest?
      • Do we understand how the use of AI and emerging tech is changing cyber risks?
      • Do we have the capabilities to build AI into our cybersecurity and defend at speed?
      • Are we taking a zero-trust approach to user verification?
      • Are we conducting robust scenario planning around potential cyber threats?
      • Do we have a clear and structured process for response and recovery?

      KPMG CEO Outlook – UK

      Start the conversation on the challenges facing CEOs and what they’re prioritising.
      Explore more
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