Cyberattacks are rising, but the teams defending against them aren't growing fast enough, pushing cybersecurity professionals to the breaking point, according to new research from the Information Systems Security Association (ISACA). ISACA's State of Privacy 2026 report found that professionals feel increasingly strained, with 65% saying their roles are far more stressful now than five years ago. Drawing on insights from more than 1,800 privacy professionals across the ISACA community worldwide, the report found that respondents were most stressed by the rapid evolution of technology (71%, up from 63% last year), followed by compliance challenges (62%) and resource shortages (61%).[1]
More than one-third (38%) of European IT and cyber professionals said their organization has faced more attacks this year than in all of 2025. Yet despite escalating threats, more than half (56%) said they remain chronically understaffed, with 55% reporting insufficient funding. "Eight years of data point to the same conclusion," said Jimmy Sanders, ISSA President. "The profession is struggling not because talent is scarce, but because organizations are not investing enough in the people they already have. That is the leadership opportunity in front of us right now."
More than half (54%) of cybersecurity professionals expect their organization to experience a serious cyberattack within the next year. The threats facing teams are also expanding and accelerating, placing additional pressure on practitioners, with phishing attacks ranked as the most common threat, cited by 46% of respondents.
AI increasingly supports these techniques, creating new risks and allowing threat actors to sharpen their targeting. This follows earlier analysis from Kaseya, which highlighted AI's use in phishing attacks and warned that AI-generated phishing has now "become the baseline" for threat actors. ISACA said AI presents "difficult and serious challenges" for security teams, with attacks that previously took days or weeks now automated at scale, allowing threat actors to "operate at the speed of intent".
While AI-powered threats pose a serious risk, ISACA noted the technology is also helping teams keep pace with escalating threats. The association said AI's "exponential growth has proved to be an aid" for practitioners, with its use in frontline operations expanding rapidly.
More than one-third (37%) of respondents now use AI to automate threat detection, up 8% from 2025. AI is also being used for endpoint security by 29% of teams and to automate routine security tasks by 35%
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents said their role is now more stressful compared with five years ago, with threat landscape complexity cited as the leading factor. Other reasons included unrealistic expectations and excessive workload (57%) and a lack of relevant skills training (35%). Notably, 21% of companies still take "no action" to address burnout.
A separate April 2026 ISSA survey closely aligns with these findings: nearly seven in ten workers said their jobs have become more difficult over the last two years, while nearly half are considering leaving, with 53% citing stress and 34% citing poor work-life balance.
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[1] https://www.cybersecurityintelligence.com/blog/cyber-security-teams-stretched-to-breaking-point--9772.html
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