- The Thales 2026 Data Threat Report indicates that 61% of respondents view AI as the top data security risk.
- Companies are granting broad access to AI, creating internal risks
- 48% of respondents report that AI-driven misinformation has damaged their reputation
Artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes are proving to be a security nightmare for businesses around the world, with a new study claiming that almost two-thirds (61%) of businesses view AI as their top data security risk.
The Thales 2026 Data Threat Report highlights that the challenge of access control and management is at the heart of this problem.
Companies are increasingly integrating AI into workflows, analytics, customer service, and development pipelines. For this to work, they must grant these tools broad and automated access, thereby turning AI tools into a trusted insider. The problem is that the controls put in place for employees are almost always stricter than those for AI.
Threats from within and without
In addition to being a latent malicious insider, AI can also be a powerful malicious outsider. Threat actors are quickly adopting the new tool and today, more than half (nearly 60% in fact) of businesses reported being victims of deepfake-based attacks. In these attacks, scammers use fake AI-generated audio, video, or image files to convincingly impersonate a real person and thus manipulate their victims.
In a corporate environment, this could include using voice cloning to deceive employees, creating an AI-generated video to authorize payments, or fabricating public statements to manipulate stock prices or damage trust. In fact, the Thales study found that 48% reported reputational damage related to AI-generated misinformation.
Today, some companies are aware of AI threats, but the majority are doing little. More than half (53%) still rely on traditional security programs designed primarily for human users, while less than a third (30%) have begun to dedicate specific budgets to AI security.
“Insider risk no longer only concerns people. It also concerns automated systems that have been trusted too quickly,” explains Sébastien Cano, senior vice president of cybersecurity products at Thales. “When identity governance, access policies, or encryption are weak, AI can amplify those weaknesses in enterprise environments far faster than any human ever could. »
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