Widespread concerns are growing among U.S. employees about escalating cybersecurity threats in the workplace, according to new data from Ernst & Young LLP.
The 2024 Human Risk in Cybersecurity Survey found that 53% of respondents worried their organization would be the target of a cyberattack, and 34% worried that they may be the ones leaving their organization vulnerable due to their actions.
Notably, fear of exposing their organization to a cyberattack is particularly high among younger generations, with Gen Z and Millennial employees less likely to feel equipped to identify and respond to cyber threats compared to their older colleagues.
This year, EY US expanded the study to analyze employee perception of the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in escalating threats, finding that 85% of workers believe AI has made cybersecurity attacks more sophisticated, 78% worry about the use of AI in cyberattacks and 39% of employees are not confident that they know how to use AI responsibly.
The cybersecurity study highlights a persistent gap in preparedness across generations, with younger workers continuing to fall short of exercising safe cybersecurity practices more so than older generations. See more survey results.