As artificial intelligence rapidly transforms corporate environments, a deeply concerning security gap is emerging: Organizations are eagerly welcoming automated systems into their internal networks without knowing where their sensitive information is hidden. According to the newly released Thales 2026 Data Threat Report, only 34% of organizations know where all their data resides, setting the stage for a massive security crisis as AI is given free rein to wander through enterprise systems.
The extensive research, conducted by S&P Global’s 451 Research and commissioned by Thales—a global technology leader in cybersecurity—highlights a troubling disconnect between rapid AI adoption and foundational data control. Across vital markets, including the automotive, energy, finance, and retail industries, businesses say the rapid pace of AI-driven transformation has become their greatest security challenge. As enterprises actively embed AI into their development pipelines, analytics, and customer service workflows, these automated systems are being granted broad access to enterprise data, frequently with fewer controls than those applied to human workers. Consequently, 61% of organizations now explicitly cite AI as their top data security risk.
