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Davos 2025: AI, Cyberattacks, and the Executive Imperative for Resilience

A borderless digital era.
Emory Odom
Contributing Writer

The annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, concluded last week, with much of the dialogue centered around the transformative role of artificial intelligence (AI) and the growing complexities of cyberattacks.

For CEOs and Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs), the discussions underscored an urgent reality: while AI holds immense promise, it also magnifies the risks posed by cyber adversaries operating at an unprecedented level of sophistication.

Insights from the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 report provided critical metrics that framed these discussions and offered a roadmap for resilience.

AI as a Double-Edged Sword: Opportunity and Risk

AI was hailed as a critical enabler of growth and efficiency, but the conversations at Davos revealed the “AI paradox” facing organizations. While 66% of surveyed leaders believe AI will have the most significant impact on cybersecurity in 2025, only 37% of organizations currently have processes to assess the security of AI tools before deployment.

This gap is especially pronounced among small organizations, 69% of which lack safeguards for secure AI implementation. Adversaries are exploiting AI’s capabilities to automate attacks, refine deepfakes, and create sophisticated phishing campaigns. Nearly 47% of organizations cited AI-powered adversarial capabilities, such as the use of generative AI (GenAI), as their top concern.

With 42% of companies reporting an increase in successful social engineering attacks last year, leaders left Davos with a clear mandate: proactive AI security strategies must be a priority, not an afterthought.

“Against a backdrop of growing cyber threats and expanding attack surfaces, network defenders are drowning in the operational complexity of a legacy security mindset. To stay ahead of adversaries, we need to reimagine cybersecurity operations, leverage the power of AI, and deprive attackers of any technological advantage.”

Nikesh Arora, Chairman and CEO – Palo Alto Networks

Cyberattacks Escalate: Metrics Highlight Rising Threats

Cyberattacks continue to be a critical issue, but the threat landscape is growing increasingly complex. According to the the report, 72% of surveyed organizations reported a rise in cyber risks over the past 12 months. Among the top organizational concerns:

  • Ransomware: Ranked as the leading cyber risk, with 45% of respondents identifying it as their top priority.
  • Supply Chain Disruptions: 54% of large organizations cited third-party risk management as the greatest barrier to achieving cyber resilience, as vulnerabilities in supply chains increasingly propagate risks throughout ecosystems.
  • AI-Enhanced Cybercrime: AI is driving the sophistication of attacks. For example, deepfakes have surged in use, with Accenture reporting a 223% increase in the trade of deepfake-related tools on the dark web between 2023 and 2024.

Geopolitical tensions are amplifying these risks, with 60% of organizations stating that their cybersecurity strategies have been directly influenced by global political instability. One in three CEOs at Davos cited cyber espionage and intellectual property theft as a major concern.

Inequity in Cyber Resilience: The Growing Divide

The discussions in Davos highlighted the growing gap between cyber “haves” and “have-nots,” as smaller organizations struggle to keep pace with larger, well-resourced enterprises. The report revealed that 35% of small organizations believe their cyber resilience is inadequate, a sevenfold increase since 2022.

In contrast, the percentage of large organizations reporting insufficient resilience has nearly halved in the same period.

Regional disparities in preparedness further exacerbate these challenges. For example, only 15% of organizations in Europe and North America lack confidence in their country’s ability to respond to major cyber incidents targeting critical infrastructure. By comparison, this figure rises to 36% in Africa and 42% in Latin America, underscoring the uneven distribution of cybersecurity resources and capabilities globally.

The Davos Mandate for CEOs and CISOs

The message from Davos was unequivocal: leadership must prioritize cybersecurity as a strategic investment. Discussions underscored several key takeaways:

Strengthening Supply Chain Resilience: Supply chain vulnerabilities were a top concern at Davos, with executives highlighting the ripple effects of attacks. To mitigate these risks, 41% of CISOs cited enhancing visibility into third-party dependencies as a critical priority, while 48% emphasized the importance of enforcing compliance across their supply chain.

Investing in AI Security Governance: Leaders must bridge the gap between AI innovation and security. While 74% of CEOs agree that building a strong cybersecurity culture is central to AI adoption, execution remains a challenge, especially for smaller organizations. Large enterprises, with 59% having AI security procedures in place, are far ahead of small and medium-sized businesses.

Addressing the Cyber Skills Gap: The cybersecurity workforce shortage continues to grow, with the report estimating a global shortfall of between 2.8 million and 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals. Only 14% of organizations are confident in their current talent pool. To address this, 76% of organizations are upskilling existing employees, while 24% are actively recruiting from nontraditional backgrounds, such as law, communications, and finance, to diversify capabilities.

The Wrap

The insights from Davos 2025 left no doubt that navigating the complexities of AI and cyber risks will require unified action. As the Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 report revealed, 63% of organizations cited the evolving threat landscape as their greatest challenge to resilience.

CEOs and CISOs must adopt a collaborative, forward-thinking mindset to address these threats, leveraging partnerships and cross-sector cooperation.

Ultimately, the path forward requires balancing immediate action with long-term vision. By prioritizing investments in AI security, workforce development, and supply chain resilience, leaders can not only protect their organizations but also fortify the broader digital ecosystem.

As one Davos attendee aptly noted, “Resilience is no longer optional; it’s a business imperative.”

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