Artificial intelligence is rapidly emerging as a crucial tool for overextended security teams. According to the 2025 Fortinet Cybersecurity Skills Gap Survey, conducted across 1,850 IT and cybersecurity leaders in 29 countries. 97% of organizations are using or planning to use AI-driven cybersecurity tools to address growing incident volumes and workforce shortages.
The survey found that 86% of organizations suffered one or more breaches in 2024, with 28% reporting five or more, up from 19% in 2021. Over half (52%) said these incidents cost them more than US$1 million, highlighting the financial and operational toll of under-resourced security operations.
While 80% of respondents said AI tools improved efficiency and detection capabilities, experts cautioned that AI alone cannot fill the global cybersecurity talent gap—now estimated at 4.7 million professionals (ISC2, 2024). Nearly half (48%) of organizations cited a lack of staff with AI expertise as their biggest challenge in deploying and managing AI-powered systems effectively.
Industry analysts emphasized this paradox. Using AI to fix a problem worsened by a lack of AI talent has become a business risk.
- Fortinet CISO warned that failing to close the skills gap will lead to higher breach rates and escalating costs.
- Recruiting firm Robert Half noted that companies are offering higher salaries and incentives to attract top cybersecurity talent.
- Experts like Noma Security’s CISO Diana Kelley stressed the growing demand for “future-proof” skills. Such as AI agent management, prompt engineering, and AI defense operations.
The report urged enterprises to invest in continuous training, certifications, and diverse talent pipelines. Warning that overreliance on credentials without internal upskilling could slow hiring and leave critical systems exposed.
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