- Armis report: 54% of UK businesses hit by state-sponsored attacks by 2025
- IT leaders warn that GenAI is escalating cyber warfare risks
- Many lack the expertise and budget to implement AI-powered defenses
A record number of UK businesses were hit by state-sponsored threat actors last year as IT leaders see Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) as the tool to exacerbate the risks.
This is according to security researchers Armis, who have just released their 2026 Armis Cyberwarfare Report. Based on interviews with nearly 2,000 IT decision makers around the world, as well as proprietary data, Armis said more than half of UK businesses (54%) reported suffering a state-sponsored attack last year, up from 47% a year ago.
The vast majority (80%) see the current political situation as significantly increasing the risk of state-sponsored cyber attacks (up from 74% year-on-year), while nearly all – 92% – said they are concerned about the implications of a full-scale cyber war. Three-quarters (76%) believe that state-sponsored threat actors can seriously damage critical infrastructure.
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More persistent cyber warfare with artificial intelligence
At the same time, the majority of respondents see the emergence of artificial intelligence as quite troublesome. Two-thirds (69%) see technology’s weapons making cyber conflict more persistent, and half (48%) said their business suffered an AI-powered attack last year.
AI can also be used as a defense mechanism, but most companies have yet to get there. Armis says 45% of respondents confirmed they lacked the expertise to implement and manage AI-powered security solutions, and 46% said they lacked the right budget.
“Attackers are working at machine speed, while too many organizations are still trying to defend themselves with assumptions and structures built for a very different threat landscape,” said Nadir Izrael, CTO at Armis. “Nation-state capabilities, AI acceleration, and unaddressed security gaps are looming. For many organizations, it’s not a question of if they will face a cyber warfare attack, but when—and how truly prepared they are to defend themselves and protect their environment when it happens.”
Via Information Security Magazine
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