New world, new rules: Cybersecurity in an era of uncertainty
Cybersecurity is entering unchartered territory. A rapidly shifting world order and accelerating technological change are putting organisational risk management strategies to the test.
Organisations are navigating an era shaped by fractured alliances, weakened institutions, shifting trade dynamics, and supply-chain vulnerabilities linked to ongoing conflicts. At the same time, breakthroughs in areas such as AI are expanding the attack surface and fuelling more cyber incidents than ever.
In this environment, leaders must reassess not only their capabilities, talent, and technology, but also their broader cyber strategies – from investment priorities to cloud vendor choices. Building digital trust will require fresh thinking, agility, and collaboration, as well as the ability to harness AI to turn uncertainty into resilience and growth.
PwC’s 2026 Global Digital Trust Insights survey captures how cyber leadership is adapting to the new cyber reality. The study reflects the views of nearly 3,900 business and technology leaders – including 62 from Switzerland – across 72 countries and a broad range of industries and organisation sizes. Almost a quarter of Swiss respondents represent organisations with global revenues exceeding USD 10 billion, lending additional weight to the survey’s insights on how companies are addressing challenges from cloud and AI to supply chain and quantum risk – and where critical gaps remain in resilience, governance, and leadership.
Risk and threat landscape Global tensions drive new focus on cyber risk
52% of Swiss firms are increasing cyber risk investments in response to geopolitical volatility.
Swiss organisations are adapting their cyber strategies to rising geopolitical uncertainty – but with a different focus than international peers. While just half of Swiss firms (52%) are increasing cyber risk investments, the global figure stands at 60%. Two in five organisations globally are reviewing their cyber insurance compared with only one in four in Switzerland. Significantly more than a third of both Swiss and global firms are re-evaluating the location of their critical infrastructure in response to geopolitical shifts.
For several years, Switzerland has led the global averages on identifying and classifying data, but its data risk management controls have lagged substantially behind international peers. Whilst the picture remains consistent this year, over a third of Swiss firms are now implementing responsible AI practises and strengthening data quality capabilities. In addition, almost half of Swiss organisations have recently deployed data minimisation and encryption measures across parts of their business.
A further concern is that a notable share of Swiss companies remain inactive. One in five report no plans at all for responsible AI practices, compared with only one in twenty globally. This points to a more uneven landscape than elsewhere. One reason may be that, while AI is driving data protection and data management efforts globally, it currently plays a smaller role in advancing digitalisation in Switzerland, reducing the urgency of related data management and protection measures.
“Only half of Swiss firms are stepping up cyber spend – far too few, given that criminals never stop investing. The low figure is partly due to advanced financial services investing more slowly, but it leaves vulnerable sectors such as healthcare, critical infrastructure and small(er) businesses even further behind.”
Cyber investment is no place for hesitation. Swiss organisations need enterprise-wide action on data protection, encryption, and responsible AI. Only by closing the gap with global peers can they safeguard trust, protect critical infrastructure, and remain competitive in 2026 and beyond.
Don’t wait for threats to decide for you – invest in data and AI resilience now to secure tomorrow’s competitiveness.
Cyber strategy and operations Modernisation fuels cyber investment, but resilience gaps remain
56% of Swiss organisations say technology modernisation is the top driver of cyber spend – ahead of regulatory compliance and above the global average.
Swiss organisations are leveraging technology modernisation and optimisation of existing investments to accelerate their cyber security spend more strategically. As in the past, compliance objectives play a smaller role (21% vs. 31% globally), reflecting Switzerland’s already mature regulatory environment – especially in financial services – and the EU’s active role in issuing new directives, which Switzerland often aligns with.
Swiss organisations are notably farther behind Western peers in understanding and modelling the financial impact of cyber risks. Only about three in ten firms measure risk in depth, compared with around half globally, while many limit their efforts to partial assessments. This underlines the need for stronger quantification, clearer visualisation of business impacts, and more robust methods to demonstrate the value of mitigation.
Resource allocation in Switzerland is more balanced than elsewhere, with 46% spending more on prevention compared with 56% globally. Roughly a quarter aim for an even split between prevention and response, and another quarter lean more towards being reactive by focusing on response. This suggests that many Swiss firms are pragmatic about cyber security – ensuring they can react effectively to incidents rather than concentrating resources too heavily on prevention.
To close talent gaps, half of Swiss firms focus on security automation and upskilling, in line with global peers. By contrast, only 34% prioritise AI-driven learning tools, far below the global average of 53% – a significant gap, given AI’s growing role in countering advanced threats. Tool consolidation and managed services also rank as important levers, while traditional recruitment is a lower priority. High labour costs make automation and alternative delivery models more attractive than expanding local headcount.
“Swiss firms are clearly investing in modernisation, but the challenge is ensuring that spend translates into measurable resilience. Technology alone won’t solve the problem; it takes a well trained and governed organisation, hardened fundamentals, rehearsed playbooks, and the ability to respond and recover at speed.”
Swiss firms are showing strategic maturity by building security into their modernisation initiatives – a clear sign of security by design. The next step is building on this strategy by strengthening capabilities through automation and AI-driven learning as well as improving the quantification of cyber risk to ensure the most valuable security investments are chosen. By investing time to model and understand their exposure accurately, leaders can make more informed decisions and turn resilience into a source of trust and competitiveness.
Don’t just spend on cyber target investments to reduce the most risk and build a foundation for secure AI.
Artificial intelligence Governance, not skills, is the main barrier
The top three hurdles to implementing AI in cyber defence are unclear risk appetite, skills shortages, and knowledge gaps.
For Swiss organisations, the main barrier to using AI in cyber defence is not a lack of expertise but uncertainty over governance. An unclear risk appetite tops the list of challenges, cited by 43% of respondents. The next two barriers for Swiss firms are skills gaps and limited knowledge in how to apply AI, each impacting about one third of organisations. However, these concerns affect a smaller share of Swiss companies than their global peers, pointing to a stronger technical baseline. Leadership alignment is also less of an obstacle in Switzerland than globally: only 27% say executives are unclear on the value of AI for cyber defence, compared with 34% globally.
At the global level, organisations are most concerned about AI-powered malware, supply chain attacks, and deepfake-enabled social engineering. To counter these risks, they prioritise AI threat hunting, vulnerability scanning and assessments, and identity and access management. When it comes to using agentic AI, around 40% of organisations focus on cloud security, data protection, and cyber defence operations – reflecting a strong push to reinforce the core pillars of resilience.
Together, these findings suggest that Swiss organisations experimenting with AI in cyber defence often have strong technical expertise and face fewer skills or knowledge gaps than peers. Adoption still remains limited, with unclear risk appetite the main sticking point, and around one third of organisations struggling with knowledge gaps and one third with skills gaps. Globally the emphasis is shifting towards tackling AI-driven threats and embedding agentic AI into critical security functions.
“Swiss companies face a mismatch between their ambitions to use AI and the maturity of their data protection. Without a clear appetite to apply AI, robust controls, and the right skills, many are not yet prepared to manage data securely in an AI-driven world.”
The real barrier to AI in cyber defence is governance, not technology. Swiss firms must clarify their risk appetite, strengthen data protection, and enforce consistent controls. At the same time, they need to train people with the right skills to use AI responsibly and effectively. Acting now can turn AI into a driver of resilience and competitive advantage.
Bridge the gap between AI ambition and data protection – and build cyber resilience that lasts.
Quantum computing readiness Exploration dominates while global peers advance
Only 11% of Swiss firms have implemented quantum readiness measures, while 40% are still in the exploring phase – leaving them well behind global and European peers.
Quantum computing is still emerging, but its future ability to break today’s encryption standards means organisations must start preparing now. Swiss firms are lagging their international peers: only about half as many are in the implementation phase, and far fewer are piloting or testing. Instead, 40% are still in the exploration stage (vs. 33% globally), one in six have not begun at all, and one in ten cannot confirm their status. Compared with global peers, Switzerland shows a more cautious – and less advanced – posture, with many organisations still evaluating the path forward.
“Quantum may still seem like a future issue, but preparation must start now. The steps organisations take today – building awareness, assessing exposure, and planning mitigation – will determine how resilient they are tomorrow.”
Quantum readiness needs to move from exploration to execution. It should be treated as part of the wider digital and cyber strategy: strengthening data protection today while laying the foundations for quantum-safe security tomorrow. Acting early allows organisations to shape standards, embed lifecycle mitigations into the organisation, and secure an edge in a rapidly changing risk landscape.
Don’t wait for quantum to arrive – build quantum-resilient defences today.
Cyber leadership CISO access is high, but influence low
Half of Swiss executives engage with their CISO monthly, but only one in four involve them strongly in transformation initiatives.
CISO-C-suite collaboration in Switzerland shows both strengths and gaps compared with international peers. While a similar share of Swiss executives engage with their CISO on a monthly or quarterly basis, globally a much higher proportion do so weekly – around 50% more than in Switzerland. This raises the question: are Swiss organisations considering security sufficiently in their business change initiatives, or do consistent exchanges at executive level provide enough depth and focus?
When it comes to specific collaboration areas, Switzerland again shows mixed results. The share of Swiss organisations where the CISO provides cybersecurity programme insights to the CEO is in line with the global average. Yet only 25% of Swiss CISOs are involved “to a large extent” in establishing security controls for transformation initiatives, compared with 45% globally.
Swiss CISOs are also more often less involved in executive-level processes. For example, 24% are involved only “to a limited extent” in strategic planning with the CFO, and 15% have limited involvement in providing programme insights to the CEO.
Overall, this points to a divided leadership landscape, where CISO access to the C-suite is fairly regular, but many remain confined to operational or advisory roles. More active engagement in transformation, investment planning, and board-level decisions would significantly strengthen cyber resilience and trust.
“Swiss CISOs may have recurring access to the C-suite, but they are engaged to a lesser degree in business transformation. While regular meetings tick the box, their influence on change and value creation remains below international peers – a missed opportunity to shape resilience and growth across the business value chain.”
For Swiss leaders, the message is clear: regular meetings with the CISO are not enough. True resilience requires bringing CISOs into transformation, investment, and board-level decisions. Elevating them as strategic partners turns cybersecurity into a driver of trust, resilience, and growth.
Elevate your CISO from advisor to partner – and turn cybersecurity into a driver of resilience and growth.
Building trust in a world of uncertainty
Cybersecurity has evolved from defence to differentiation. As technology accelerates and global risks grow more complex, trust has become the defining measure of resilience.
Swiss organisations are investing more and modernising faster than ever. They are also experimenting with AI – but gaps remain in governance, quantum readiness, and leadership. The next phase is not about reacting to threats, but mastering change: embedding security into strategy, turning data protection into innovation, and making cyber a catalyst for growth.
The opportunity is now. To build digital trust that endures, organisations should:
Strengthen data and AI governance to turn control into confidence.
Improve cyber risk modelling to help target investments
Invest in AI training and skills development for employees
Integrate CISOs as partners in transformation and value creation.
Begin quantum readiness today to protect tomorrow’s data.
Cybersecurity is more than protection – it’s the foundation of trust, competitiveness, and resilience in a connected world.
The future of trust starts with action. Build it now.
Cybersecurity is no longer just about protection
it is becoming a source of trust, resilience, and differentiation.
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Ashish Gupta