Survey reveals 27% of Irish IT leaders fear deepfake attacks, with shadow AI and data governance gaps posing major risks for secure AI adoption in Ireland and UK.
More than a quarter of IT leaders across Ireland and the UK fear they will struggle to detect deepfake attacks in the coming year, according to new research from Storm Technology, now part of Littlefish.
The survey, conducted by Censuswide among 200 IT decision-makers, highlights growing unease about the security implications of rapid AI adoption.
“Deepfake threats, data governance gaps, and a lack of trust in AI platforms are converging into a perfect storm”
The findings show that 27% of respondents are concerned about deepfake detection, rising to 33% among larger enterprises compared with 23% in smaller businesses.
Data breaches emerged as the most pressing worry, cited by 34% of IT leaders, followed closely by data protection (33%) and the risk of adversarial or cyber-attacks (31%).
Emerging from the shadows
Shadow AI – the use of unsanctioned or unapproved tools – is also a significant issue. One in four respondents listed it among their top concerns, while half acknowledged that employees in their organisation are using such tools.
Strikingly, 55% admitted to doing so themselves. Forty-two% believe company data is not safe for input into these platforms, and only 60% of organisations have clarified which AI tools are permitted.
Governance gaps are evident. Almost a third of companies lack a strategy to manage AI-related risks, and 21% of IT leaders say they do not have a high degree of trust in AI tools. Among Irish respondents, 35% believe their governance is inadequate, compared with 28% overall. Nearly four in five respondents agree their organisation needs to focus more on regulating AI tools.
Data readiness is another challenge. A quarter of IT leaders do not think their business data is prepared for AI, and 23% say their data governance policies are not robust enough to support secure adoption. As a result, 78% believe a dedicated data readiness project is essential.
Sean Tickle, Cyber Services Director at Littlefish, said: “AI is rapidly reshaping the enterprise landscape, but the speed of adoption is outpacing the maturity of governance. When nearly a third of organisations lack a strategy to manage AI risk, and over half of IT leaders admit to using unsanctioned tools, it’s clear that shadow AI isn’t just a user issue – it’s a leadership one.
“Deepfake threats, data governance gaps, and a lack of trust in AI platforms are converging into a perfect storm. To stay secure and competitive, businesses must invest in visibility, policy clarity, and data readiness – because without those, AI becomes a liability, not a differentiator.”
Top image: Sean Tickle, Cyber Services Director at Littlefish
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