Report by Cyber Security in Critical National Infrastructure Organisations: 2026
Bridewell
Key Findings
39% of respondents from CNI organisations said managing AI cyber risk is the biggest security challenge in 2026.
36% of respondents from CNI organisations said improving cyber resilience is the biggest security challenge in 2026.
43% of respondents from CNI organisations said data protection and privacy is the biggest security challenge in 2026.
36% of CNI organisations reported increasing cyber budgets in response to an incident
35% of security leaders working across the UK’s 13 CNI sectors cited regulatory requirements as the primary influence on their security programs, up from 26% the in 2025 and 29% the year before.
93% of CNI organisations experienced a cyber attack in the past 12 months
50% of CNI organisations said IT disruption/outage was the top impact of a cyber attack.
35% of CNI organisations now cite regulation as the primary driver of maturity.
32% of respondents from CNI organisatins cited the complexity of cloud environments as the root causes of cyber incidents.
28% of respondents from CNI organisations said trust in cybersecurity tools is the biggest security challenge in 2026.
27% of respondents from CNI organisations said complying with regulations is the biggest security challenge in 2026.