Only 28% of Irish organisations have implemented robust cyber resilience actions across their organisation, well below global peers.
Globally, the estimated cost of the average data breach for an organisation is €3.06m, according to PwC. However, only 28% of Irish organisations have implemented cyber resilience actions compared to 33% of their global counterparts.
That said, 66% of Irish firms confirm that their cybersecurity budgets are set to increase in the year ahead and 74% are prioritising cyber risk mitigation, which is actually ahead of their global counterparts (57%).
“Cyber resilience is everyone’s responsibility, from the boardroom to the employee”
This is according to PwC’s 2025 Digital Trust Insights survey, the longest running and the largest annual survey worldwide on cybersecurity trends. The study surveyed 4,042 business and tech executives across 71 countries, including Ireland.
Irish firms need to prioritise cyber risk investment
It is evident from the survey that cybersecurity remains at the forefront for Irish organisations with 66% of Irish respondents expecting their cyber budget to increase in the year ahead, however this falls behind global peers (77%). At the same time, the study reveals that 74% of Irish organisations are prioritising cyber risk mitigation in the year ahead, far ahead of their global counterparts (57%) and far ahead of other business risks to be mitigated such as digital and technology risks (48%), inflation (42%), environmental risks (34%) and macroeconomic volatility (18%).
Notably, there was a gap identified in the implementation of robust cybersecurity for Irish organisations with just 28% of Irish respondents having implemented robust cyber resilience actions across their organisation, well behind global counterparts (33%). This comes as the average cost of a data breach across all respondents globally is €3.06m
“The survey highlights that despite the high cost of cyber breaches, less than one in three Irish organisations have implemented robust cyber resilience actions across their businesses,” said Leonard McAuliffe, Cybersecurity Partner, PwC Ireland.
“At the same time, they state that they are planning to prioritise cyber risk mitigation in the next 12 months, but their planned investment is behind their global peers. Irish companies need to prioritise cyber risk investment even more to safeguard their organisations from cyberattacks.”
Third-party breaches remain the number one cyber concern for Irish organisations (48%) as dependency on third parties continues. This follows ransomware (42%) and cloud-related threats (40%). Globally, the top cyber threats are cloud-related threats (42%), hack-and-leak operations (38%) and third-party breaches (35%).
As companies contend with cyber security concerns, almost four-fifths (78%) of global business leaders surveyed have ramped up their investment in GenAI over the last 12 months. For example, GenAI is being prioritised in cyber defence activities such as threat detection (44%), threat intelligence (39%) and malware and phishing detection (38%).
At the same time GenAI (68%) has increased cyber attack vulnerabilities in the last 12 months, ahead of other emerging technologies such as cloud technology.
While leveraging GenAI remains key to enhancing cyber strategies, organisations face several challenges when incorporating the technology. Notably, 39% of global respondents cited a lack of trust in GenAI by internal stakeholders and difficulties in integrating GenAI with existing systems and processes. Additionally, 38% indicated inadequate internal controls and risk management, while 37% pointed to a lack of standardised internal policies governing the use of GenAI as prominent challenges.
“Cyber resilience is everyone’s responsibility, from the boardroom to the employee,” McAuliffe said.
“We must hold each other accountable and ensure that we address emerging risks by leveraging new technology, practising foundational cybersecurity principles and investing in resources that will secure the future of the organisation.”
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