AI deployments are stretching enterprise security to its limits
NetFoundry survey finds AI deployments will expand enterprise attack surfaces by 14%, with 90% of leaders worried about unapproved employee AI use.
NetFoundry's 2026 State of Secure AI Access survey found CISOs and CTOs expect AI deployments to grow attack surfaces by an average 14% within a year, with 90% concerned about employees using unapproved AI tools. Only 15% expressed high confidence that existing tools protect AI deployments, while non-human identities, static credentials and internet-facing APIs drive risk, and vulnerability exploitation now accounts for about 31% of breaches. Security reviews and network changes add an average eight days to AI deployments, and the median time to patch known exploited vulnerabilities has risen to 43 days.
- 90% of security leaders worry about employees using unapproved AI tools
- Vulnerability exploitation now accounts for about 31% of breaches
- More than half say security and compliance reviews add one to two weeks to AI deployments
- Over one-third struggle to monitor AI agent activity, highest in finance
- Machine identities and long-lived credentials are primary attack surface drivers
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From the original article
3 min read at helpnetsecurity.com
CISOs and CTOs expect AI deployments to increase their organizations’ attack surface by an average of 14% over the next year. Nearly all lack visibility into AI deployments, and 90% are concerned about employees using unapproved AI tools outside formal oversight, according to NetFoundry’s 2026 State of Secure AI Access survey.
By @helpnetsecurity · helpnetsecurity.com
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