How secure is your organization? You might be relatively safe today, but that could change tomorrow. As you implement new tools, attackers are discovering fresh vulnerabilities and developing ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their attacks.

To help understand how well-prepared organizations are for the next threats, Cloudflare conducts an annual readiness survey of cyber security leaders. For the 2024 survey, we received responses from 3,844 leaders in 14 markets across the Asia Pacific region. Their organizations operate in a full range of sectors — from financial services, energy, and retail to technology, healthcare, education, and government.

Though there was a large and diverse group of survey participants, several key trends emerged from the responses: Organizations continue to experience a high frequency of attacks; AI is transforming threats; and complexity is driving the need for consolidation.

There’s no question that organizations continue to be besieged by attacks, many of which result in data breaches. In the past 12 months, 68% of survey respondents have experienced cyber security incidents, with 61% of those organizations suffering breaches.

In many cases, attackers repeatedly target the same vulnerabilities. IT and security teams are unable to address gaps fast enough, especially given the frequency of attacks and breaches. According to the survey, 47% of respondents reported that their organization experienced more than 10 data breaches in the past year.

Of those that experienced a breach, 76% of respondents say that the frequency of breaches is increasing. And most anticipate an even higher number in the next year. Meanwhile, the survey showed a 29% decrease in the percentage of respondents who felt prepared to defend against attacks, compared with the previous year’s survey.

These breaches continue to cause serious damage. More than half of respondents reported losses of more than $1 million. Those losses include a variety of expenses not covered by cyber security insurance policies.

AI is playing a fast-growing role in cyber security. In our survey, 87% of respondents reported that AI has contributed to more frequent attacks or empowered attackers to enhance the sophistication of their tactics.

How do attackers use AI? The security leaders in our survey believe that AI is helping cyber criminals crack encryption, improve phishing efforts, launch DDoS attacks, and create deepfakes that facilitate privacy breaches.

Some good news: Tech leaders strongly believe that they can ultimately overcome AI-powered threats. In fact, 83% of respondents claim they will be able to handle these threats. However, only 28% say they are currently ready. By their own admission, they still need to deploy new AI-focused security tools and hire new personnel.

Many organizations are already making key changes, though, to address AI-based threats. In the survey, 70% of respondents reported that their organizations are changing how they work. Specifically, they are modifying governance and compliance efforts, the strategic direction of security teams, and their levels of vendor engagement.

Over the past few years, organizations have raced to implement security solutions that can address rising threats while protecting an expanding hybrid workforce. According to the survey, 49% of respondents had deployed more than 20 security tools — 82% had added more vendors and tools in the past 12 months alone. The result, however, is extreme complexity.

That complexity has left organizations less safe. Overall, 86% of survey respondents believe that complexity has made their organizations more vulnerable to attacks. When attacks do occur, organizations are slower to respond.

The multiplication of security tools and vendors also impacts budgets. Organizations with more vendors must allocate more of their IT budget to security. As a result, they have fewer resources to devote to new initiatives.

Consolidation is critical. Organizations should consolidate security tools and vendors so they can streamline management, reduce costs, and respond more rapidly to attacks.

As new, AI-powered threats proliferate and the frequency of breaches increases, organizations must act quickly to enhance their preparedness. As the readiness report recommends, organizations should not only consolidate solutions but also make other key changes, including implementing a Zero Trust security model and developing a more robust resiliency plan. In many cases, adopting a connectivity cloud — which provides a unified platform of security services — will help organizations defend against a large, diverse array of threats while substantially reducing complexity.

*This article is part of a **series** on the latest trends and topics impacting today’s technology decision-makers.*

Discover additional cyber security trends and insights for enhancing preparedness in the *Navigating the new security landscape: Asia Pacific cyber security readiness** *study.

After reading this article you will be able to understand:

Why organizations are overwhelmed by breaches

How AI-powered threats are changing the security landscape

Why consolidation is no longer optional