Skip to main content

Cybersecurity statistics / Shadow AI

71% of IT leaders globally identified increasing productivity and efficiency as the primary use case for AI adoption.

PublisherCato Networks
ReportThe Shadow AI reality: Inside Cato’s survey results
Published3 December 2025
TopicsShadow AI, AI Adoption, IT Management

Published by Cato Networks in The Shadow AI reality: Inside Cato’s survey results, 3 December 2025. The figure is taken from the report as published; the full methodology is in the source.

View the original report

Compare this across sources

12 sources answer what share of organisations have an ai governance policy in place. They report between 18% and 44%, with a median of 36.5%.

See all 12 sources

Related statistics

24% of leaders at organisation across the UAE & KSA admit that AI usage within their perimeter is entirely unapproved or lacks formal corporate governance.
KnowBe4, 04/07/2026
Across the UAE & KSA, 52% of cybersecurity decision- makers report that the unsanctioned use of external software and rogue AI applications has directly degraded or actively compromised their security posture over the past 12 months.
KnowBe4, 04/07/2026
Across the UK, 58% of cybersecurity decision-makers report that the unsanctioned use of external software and rogue AI applications has directly degraded or actively compromised their security posture over the past 12 months.
KnowBe4, 04/07/2026
41% of local workers in the UAE & KSA admit that if official corporate AI tools are restricted or too slow, they will actively source their own unapproved agentic AI tools to bypass administrative blocks.
KnowBe4, 04/07/2026
51.8% of IT and security professionals report full visibility into sanctioned and unsanctioned AI tool usage.
Bitdefender, 04/07/2026
0.5% of IT and security managers report zero visibility into AI tool usage versus 4.5% of practitioners.
Bitdefender, 04/07/2026

Get the newsletter

Weekly cybersecurity statistics by email.