29% of businesses have experienced cyber attacks which leveraged Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the past year, according to worldwide research for international business insurer QBE. Exposure is higher among larger organisations, and phishing is the most commonly reported type of AI-enabled attack.
On behalf of QBE, Opinium surveyed more than 6,000 businesses across 15 countries in Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and North America in March-April 2026*.
It found that 63% of businesses are concerned about potential risks arising from their suppliers’ use of AI.
Other key takeaways include:
- 58% of businesses have experienced a cyber event in the past 12 months (71% in Germany, 47% in Italy).
- 21% of businesses suffered a cyber event that interrupted their activities for a day or more (44% in New Zealand, 13% in Spain).
Among the businesses that experienced cyber attacks over the past year:
- 65% said that some or all of them were related to a supplier (73% in New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, 58% in Italy and the United States);
- 57% experienced a loss of revenue (69% in New Zealand, 42% in Sweden).
Cyber preparedness varies across markets:
- 82% of businesses have a cyber incident response plan (88% in Germany).
- 69% of businesses (with 100-2000 employees) have cyber insurance (80% in Singapore).
- Room for improvement is highest in the United Arab Emirates and New Zealand, where respectively 27% and 26% of businesses don’t have an incident response plan and where 32% and 31% of businesses don’t have cyber insurance.
- 72% of businesses say their IT cybersecurity budget will increase over the next 12 months, 35% in line with inflation and 37% beyond inflation (44% in Spain).
Businesses are embracing Artificial Intelligence:
- 80% of businesses are already using AI in their operations (88% in Germany, 71% in Italy) and another 17% are looking into it.
- Pioneering sectors include IT and computing (87%); technology, media & telecommunications (86%); and financial services (82%).
- AI adoption drivers include productivity (53%) and efficiency gains (52%).
* Methodology: For QBE, Opinium surveyed 6,016 decision‑makers of IT, administration or insurance in businesses with 100-2000 employees in Australia (400), Canada (400), Denmark (400), France (400), Germany (400), Hong Kong (400), Italy (400), Netherlands (400), New Zealand (410), Singapore (400), Spain (400), Sweden (400), United Arab Emirates (406), United Kingdom (400), United States (400) from 31 March to 21April 2026.
For information about QBE's cyber insurance, visit our product page.
