Factors compounding the complex nature of cybersecurity FIGURE 1 Geopolitical tensions CybercrimeCyber skills gap AI and requirements interdependenciesComplexity in cybersecurity sophisticationemerging tech Regulatory Supply chain Against a backdrop of growing cyberthreats and expanding attack surfaces, network defenders are drowning in the operational complexity of a legacy security mindset. They struggle to stitch together dozens of disparate security solutions and enforce security policies across an enterprise’s network, cloud and endpoint environments. As a result, people – our most precious cyber resource – are left manually triaging alerts from increasingly automated attacks. To stay ahead of adversaries, we need to reimagine cybersecurity operations, leverage the power of AI and deprive attackers of any technological advantage. Nikesh Arora, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity is becoming increasingly complex FIGURE 2 78% of leaders from private organizations feel that cyber and privacy regulations effectively reduce risk in their organization’s ecosystems. However, two-thirds of respondents cited the complexity and proliferation of regulatory requirements as a challenge. Regulatory requirements 66% of respondents believe that AI will affect cybersecurity in the next 12 months, but only 37% have processes in place for safe AI deployment.AI and emerging tech The cyber skills gap has widened/uni00A0since 2024, with two in three organizations reporting moderate-to-critical skills gaps. Only 14% of organizations are conﬁdent that they have the people and skills required.Cyber skills gapGeopolitical tensions are an inﬂuence on cyber strategy in nearly 60% of organizations, with one in three CEOs citing cyber espionage and loss of sensitive information/IP as top concerns.Geopolitical tensions 72% of respondents say cyber risks have risen in the past year, with cyber-enabled fraud on the rise, an increase in phishing and social engineering attacks and identify theft becoming the top personal cyber risks.Cybercrime sophistication With 54% of large organizations citing third-party risk management as a major challenge, supply chain challenges remain a top concern for achieving cyber resilience./uni00A0Supply chain interdependencies Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 10