TrendAI flags rising AI adoption risks as enterprises move faster than security readiness
AI adoption across enterprises is accelerating rapidly, but security readiness is struggling to keep pace. A new TrendAI report highlights growing risks as organisations prioritise speed over safeguards, exposing critical gaps in governance and oversight.
- Apr 8, 2026,
- Updated Apr 8, 2026 8:36 PM IST
A push to adopt AI is outpacing enterprise readiness, with security still treated as an afterthought. Sharda Tickoo, Country Manager, India & SAARC at TrendAI, points to gaps in governance, visibility, and talent, even as organisations embed AI deeper into critical business systems.
Trend Micro’s enterprise security business unit, rebranded as TrendAI, has released new global research indicating that organisations are accelerating AI deployments despite persistent security and compliance concerns.
The study, commissioned to Sapio Research and covering 3,700 respondents globally—including 200 business and IT decision-makers in India—finds that nearly 80% of Indian respondents have felt pressured to approve AI initiatives despite security risks. At the same time, only 42% of IT managers and 49% of business managers say they feel moderately prepared for the pace of AI adoption.
Speaking to Business Today, Sharda Tickoo said enterprises often overlook security while building AI infrastructure. “I think the mistake that we see is that security is an afterthought, still not part of the blueprint. That is the most common mistake. And then second is that they still go ahead with the basic denomination of security—what is needed—only to realise that very soon they will have to come back and ensure that all the points are covered. It cannot just be one specific one.”
The report highlights that pressure-driven AI rollouts, coupled with fragmented governance and unclear accountability for AI risk, are creating systemic vulnerabilities. Limited expertise and siloed ownership structures are allowing AI to be embedded into critical systems before adequate safeguards are in place—a gap that becomes harder to address as systems grow more autonomous.
According to the findings, 81% of IT decision-makers and 77% of business decision-makers believe AI is advancing faster than organisations can secure it. This has resulted in a widening disconnect between enterprise ambition and oversight capabilities.
A key concern identified is the lack of visibility across IT environments. Tickoo noted, “Right now what enterprises are lacking is visibility. There are a lot of blind spots and fragmented solution investments. The need of the hour is for organisations to gain visibility of their IT landscape, which will lead to consolidation of security solutions.”
Governance maturity remains limited, with organisations grappling with fragmented ownership of AI risk, inadequate security and data expertise, and regulatory ambiguity. The report adds that nearly 60% of malicious activity still goes undetected, amplifying risks as enterprises move towards more autonomous AI systems.
Deepfakes are emerging as another area of concern. Tickoo emphasised that addressing this threat requires both employee awareness and technological safeguards, noting that organisations must train employees to identify manipulated content alongside deploying detection tools.
Confidence in advanced AI systems remains mixed. While around 50% of respondents believe agentic AI could transform cyber defence, concerns persist around data access, misuse, and lack of oversight. Nearly 46% of IT decision-makers flagged risks from malicious prompts, while 43% of business decision-makers pointed to an expanding attack surface.
The study also finds that 51% of IT decision-makers support implementing AI “kill switch” mechanisms to shut down systems in case of misuse or failure, although a significant proportion remain uncertain. Among business decision-makers, 48% said such measures would depend on the level of autonomy and associated risk.
India continues to face a shortage of cybersecurity talent, with Tickoo noting that the ecosystem remains at a nascent stage and requires a larger skilled workforce to keep pace with rising AI-led security challenges.
A push to adopt AI is outpacing enterprise readiness, with security still treated as an afterthought. Sharda Tickoo, Country Manager, India & SAARC at TrendAI, points to gaps in governance, visibility, and talent, even as organisations embed AI deeper into critical business systems.
Trend Micro’s enterprise security business unit, rebranded as TrendAI, has released new global research indicating that organisations are accelerating AI deployments despite persistent security and compliance concerns.
The study, commissioned to Sapio Research and covering 3,700 respondents globally—including 200 business and IT decision-makers in India—finds that nearly 80% of Indian respondents have felt pressured to approve AI initiatives despite security risks. At the same time, only 42% of IT managers and 49% of business managers say they feel moderately prepared for the pace of AI adoption.
Speaking to Business Today, Sharda Tickoo said enterprises often overlook security while building AI infrastructure. “I think the mistake that we see is that security is an afterthought, still not part of the blueprint. That is the most common mistake. And then second is that they still go ahead with the basic denomination of security—what is needed—only to realise that very soon they will have to come back and ensure that all the points are covered. It cannot just be one specific one.”
The report highlights that pressure-driven AI rollouts, coupled with fragmented governance and unclear accountability for AI risk, are creating systemic vulnerabilities. Limited expertise and siloed ownership structures are allowing AI to be embedded into critical systems before adequate safeguards are in place—a gap that becomes harder to address as systems grow more autonomous.
According to the findings, 81% of IT decision-makers and 77% of business decision-makers believe AI is advancing faster than organisations can secure it. This has resulted in a widening disconnect between enterprise ambition and oversight capabilities.
A key concern identified is the lack of visibility across IT environments. Tickoo noted, “Right now what enterprises are lacking is visibility. There are a lot of blind spots and fragmented solution investments. The need of the hour is for organisations to gain visibility of their IT landscape, which will lead to consolidation of security solutions.”
Governance maturity remains limited, with organisations grappling with fragmented ownership of AI risk, inadequate security and data expertise, and regulatory ambiguity. The report adds that nearly 60% of malicious activity still goes undetected, amplifying risks as enterprises move towards more autonomous AI systems.
Deepfakes are emerging as another area of concern. Tickoo emphasised that addressing this threat requires both employee awareness and technological safeguards, noting that organisations must train employees to identify manipulated content alongside deploying detection tools.
Confidence in advanced AI systems remains mixed. While around 50% of respondents believe agentic AI could transform cyber defence, concerns persist around data access, misuse, and lack of oversight. Nearly 46% of IT decision-makers flagged risks from malicious prompts, while 43% of business decision-makers pointed to an expanding attack surface.
The study also finds that 51% of IT decision-makers support implementing AI “kill switch” mechanisms to shut down systems in case of misuse or failure, although a significant proportion remain uncertain. Among business decision-makers, 48% said such measures would depend on the level of autonomy and associated risk.
India continues to face a shortage of cybersecurity talent, with Tickoo noting that the ecosystem remains at a nascent stage and requires a larger skilled workforce to keep pace with rising AI-led security challenges.