Cybersecurity teams are being pushed to breaking point, according to new research, with sluggish workforce growth struggling to keep pace with a rising tide of attacks.
In a new survey from ISACA, more than one-third (38%) of European IT and cyber professionals said their organization has faced more attacks this year than all of 2025.
Yet despite escalating threats, more than half (56%) said they remain chronically understaffed and underfunded (55%).
Chris Dimitriadis, global chief strategy officer at ISACA, said the survey shows many organizations are struggling to adapt to an increasingly perilous threat landscape.
“The growing gap between rising threats and under-resourcing for cybersecurity is taking a toll on the people tasked with managing it,” he commented. “Too often we are seeing budgets being sunk into crisis response, but there’s still a distinct lack of investment in the workforce, training, and resources needed to prevent attacks and protect organizations in the first place.”
Dimitriadis added that better funding and a “clear path for improving cyber resilience” should be a C-suite priority.
Regardless of repeated warnings over cybersecurity threats, things are expected to deteriorate further, according to ISACA. More than half (54%) of cybersecurity professionals said they expect their organization to experience a serious cyber attack within the next year.
Cybersecurity teams face evolving threats
The types of threats teams face are also expanding and accelerating, which is placing additional pressure on practitioners. Social engineering attacks ranked as the most common threat encountered by teams, cited by 46% of respondents.
Crucially, these techniques are now being supported and supercharged by AI, creating new risks for teams and allowing threat actors to ramp up and refine targeting.
The findings from ISACA follow analysis from Kaseya earlier this year, which specifically highlighted the use of AI in phishing attacks. Research from the firm warned that AI-generated phishing has now “become the baseline” for threat actors.
All told, ISACA said AI presents “difficult and serious challenges” for cybersecurity teams. Attacks that previously took days or weeks are now being automated at scale, allowing threat actors to “operate at the speed of intent”.
Fighting fire with fire
While AI-powered threats pose a serious risk for teams, ISACA noted that the technology is helping them keep pace with escalating threats.
In a statement, the association said AI’s “exponential growth has proved to be an aid” for practitioners – and use of the technology in frontline operations is expanding rapidly.
More than one-third (37%) of respondents now use AI to automate threat detection and response, for example. While this marks just an 8% increase compared to 2025 figures, it highlights a step in the right direction for teams.
“AI is also being used for endpoint security by 29% and to automate routine security tasks by 35%,” ISACA said in a statement.
Growing stress
This combination of pressures on cyber teams is having a direct impact on workforce morale, according to ISACA. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents said their role is now more stressful compared to five years ago.
Threat landscape complexity was cited as the leading factor behind this, cited by 72% of practitioners. However, other reasons cited include unrealistic expectations and too much work (57%) and a lack of relevant skills training (35%).
Notably, while cyber professionals have raised repeated concerns on this front, ISACA said 21% of companies still take “no action” to mitigate burnout.
Burnout has been a long-running issue in the cybersecurity sector, and one that continues to plague organizations.
An April 2026 survey by the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) aligns closely with ISACA’s research. Nearly seven-in-ten workers revealed their jobs have become more difficult over the last two years, for example.
Nearly half of cyber professionals said they are considering leaving their job, with 53% citing stress and 34% highlighting poor work-life balance.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow ITPro on Google News and add us as a preferred source to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, views, and reviews.
You can also follow ITPro on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and BlueSky.
