Official dataAll sizesUSA
$893M
lost in 2025 in 22,364 internet crime complaints that mention AI, such as voice cloning and deepfake videos
Vendor dataUpdated 23 Oct 2026
43%of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier
43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026, IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report)
Vendor dataChecked at source, 23 Oct 2026All sizesGlobalCyber security · AI threats
In plain words
What this number really says
43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026).
43%
the latest figure (Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026)
Vendor data
type of source
Why you can trust it. IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report: vendor data, a company measuring its own customers or panel. 602 breached organizations in 16 countries and regions, breaches March 2025 to February 2026; 3,558 interviews by Ponemon Institute.
Key facts
- Period Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026
- Region Global
- Company size All sizes
- Next data 31 Jul 2027
Source: IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report, Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026
Method and use
How it was measured, and how to use it
How it was measured
- Publisher
- IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report
- Source type
- Vendor data: A company measuring its own customers or panel
- What it measures
- 43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier
- Data period
- Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026 (ends 28 Feb 2026)
- Published by the source
- 29 Jul 2026
- Who is counted
- 602 breached organizations in 16 countries and regions, breaches March 2025 to February 2026; 3,558 interviews by Ponemon Institute.
- In the source's words
Security incidents involving an organization’s shadow AI—where workers use unapproved AI—more than doubled to 43% this year from 20% last year.
- Checked at source
- 23 Oct 2026: Read in the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report 2026 PDF (IBM asset server). p.47. New stat.
- Reuse
- Copyright IBM. Cite with attribution.. Interview-based study of about 600 breached organizations in 16 countries and regions; redraw only from plain numbers with attribution.
- Next expected update
- 31 Jul 2027 (IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), yearly, late July)
- Original page
- www-api.ibm.com: Cost of a Data Breach Report
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Full change log
No changes recorded yet. First checked at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
Cite this number
APA
IBM (research by Ponemon Institute). (2026). 43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier. Via digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/cybersecurity/shadow-ai-share-of-security-incidents
MLA
"43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier." IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report, Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026. digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/cybersecurity/shadow-ai-share-of-security-incidents.
HTML link
<a href="https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/cybersecurity/shadow-ai-share-of-security-incidents">43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier</a> (IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026)
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FAQ
Questions about this number
What is the latest figure for AI threats (Global)?
43% of security incidents involved shadow AI (staff using unapproved AI tools), up from 20% a year earlier, for Breaches Mar 2025 to Feb 2026, according to IBM (research by Ponemon Institute), Cost of a Data Breach Report. We checked it at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
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