Chief executives worldwide identify the exposure of personal data as the foremost cybersecurity risk linked to generative artificial intelligence (AI), according to the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026.

Key findings reveal:

  • 30% of corporate leaders rank unauthorised personal data leaks as their top AI security threat.
  • 28% cite adversarial AI—where AI systems are manipulated or exploited—as their second greatest concern.
  • Together, these issues dominate nearly 60% of executive apprehensions regarding AI risks.

Additional challenges highlighted include:

  • 15% of leaders focus on the direct technical security of AI systems.
  • 13% point to the increasing complexity of cybersecurity environments.
  • 9% are chiefly concerned with legal risks surrounding intellectual property.
  • 6% prioritise threats related to the software supply chain and code integrity.

These results underscore that while a range of technical, operational, and legal issues affect AI security, data privacy breaches and adversarial AI remain the most pressing worries among top executives globally.