Rising cyber threats are prompting companies to increase investment in cybersecurity, but resilience remains a weak point. That’s according to PwC’s “Global Digital Trust Insights 2025” survey of more than 4,000 executives in 77 countries. Seventy-seven per cent of companies plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in the coming year in the face of an evolving threat landscape. Adopting generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technologies has amplified exposure to vulnerabilities, with 67 per cent of companies reporting increased attacks.

Despite growing concern about cyber risks, only 2% of companies have implemented cyber resilience strategies. Major threats, such as those related to the cloud, hack-and-leak attacks, and third-party breaches, are also those companies feel least prepared for. Companies are investing in GenAI to strengthen their defences, but integrating these technologies presents challenges. The main obstacles are the lack of standardised internal policies and difficulties integrating with existing systems.

Growing investment

Despite the difficulties, companies recognise the importance of cybersecurity. In addition to increasing budgets, data protection and customer trust are among the main investment areas. Cybersecurity regulations are also spurring investment. PwC’s survey highlights a complex landscape in which companies face growing threats with inadequate preparedness. Investment in cybersecurity is critical, but it is equally important to develop a cyber resilience strategy to prevent, respond to, and adapt to cyber-attacks. GenAI can be a powerful weapon in the fight against cybercrime, but its implementation requires a strategic and informed approach.

According to Forrester’s 2024 data, 35% of global CISOs and CIOs consider exploring and deploying use cases for Gen AI to improve employee productivity as a top priority. The security product market has quickly hyped Gen AI’s expected productivity benefits, but a lack of practical outcomes fosters disillusionment. The thought of an autonomous security operations centre using Gen AI generated a lot of hype, but it couldn’t be further from reality. In 2025, the trend will continue, and security practitioners will sink deeper into disenchantment as challenges such as inadequate budgets and unrealised AI benefits reduce the number of security-focused Gen AI deployments.

Cloud security remains a priority

Despite the obvious threats and lack of preparedness, the survey results show that organisations are nonetheless taking substantial action. Over three-quarters expect their cyber budgets to increase in the coming year, with nearly half (48 per cent) of business executives prioritising data protection and data trust as major cyber investment areas. Tech executives, on the other hand, report that cloud security (34 per cent) remains their top priority. Nearly a third (30%) of organisations expect cyber budgets to increase by 6-10% next year, while a fifth (20%) expect budgets to increase by 11% or more.

There is also a clear need related to cyber security. Organisations see investment in cyber security as a key differentiator to gain competitive advantage, with 57 per cent citing customer trust and 49 per cent citing brand integrity and loyalty as the main motivators for such investments. In parallel, cyber regulations are also stimulating investment: 96 per cent of respondents say such regulations have increased their cyber investment in the past 12 months.