Large majority of businesses are adopting AI, as fears around cyber threats grow 

95% of UK companies have adopted Artificial Intelligence or are assessing its potential use, confirmation of the widespread popularity of the technology, according to QBE’s Control Risks Report. 

Overall, the mood surrounding AI among companies is extremely positive, underlined by 87% of companies expecting AI to benefit their businesses. There is confidence in the wider benefits of AI, with 86% predicting it will support economic growth in the UK within two years.  

There is a slight divergence in the implementation of AI, with 71% of businesses using AI tools and 24% still in the early stages of using it. 

Yet, this enthusiasm for AI is tempered with growing concern over cyber threats, with 80% of respondents saying that they believe cyber threats to be rising. In addition, 53% of respondents had experienced a cyberattack this year.  

Interestingly, of those affected, 46% said that the source was linked to a supplier, highlighting the potential exposures of third-party services in creating security breaches. 

Therefore, it was not surprising that 70% of respondents will be increasing their cybersecurity budgets this year. 

Europe and North America experienced a 50% rise in significant cyber incidents between 2023 and 2024, with the figure expected to increase by an additional 20% this year globally. 

Much of the media coverage surrounding cyberattacks has focused on the geopolitical nature of the attacks, but as the report states, most attacks are from criminal activity. 

Last year, the report noted that deepfakes featured in 10% of successful attacks, with financial losses ranging from $250,000 to more than $20,000,000.