Cisco Finds Security Concerns are Holding Back AI Adoption

Cisco has a simple message for CEOs when it comes to how they adopt and incorporate AI into their businesses while remaining secure and resilient: upgrade, secure and embrace. Don’t, and you risk stifling growth, missing opportunities and falling behind the competition. 

It comes after a new briefing by the tech company, which helps organisations deploy innovative technologies while remaining protected and resilient, found several barriers holding back leaders from realising AI’s potential including security risks. 

The company said that AI is rewriting the rules of business but noted that outdated infrastructure, a lack of a secure and modern foundation, and concerns such as cybersecurity are still prevalent in many board rooms. 

Cisco’s Chief Product Officer Jeetu Patel said the company’s data revealed an urgency to act on the part of CEOs and business leaders in order to modernise infrastructure, strengthen cybersecurity and empower their organisations. 

"In a dynamic landscape where competition is fierce, speed decides the winners,” he said. “Leaders who act decisively today to build resilient, future-proofed networks will be the AI-forward leaders driving real value for their business. Eventually there will be only two kinds of companies: those that are AI companies, and those that are irrelevant."

Security, networks and barriers to progress

In its 2025 AI Briefing: CEO Edition, Cisco said that 68% of CEOs are concerned about the current state of their secure network, while 40% are very concerned. In addition, it revealed that AI is amplifying these concerns, with 70% of CEOs surveyed saying they are more concerned about their network security in the AI era – 30% are ‘much more concerned’. 

More broadly, the age and updating of networks, as well as the associated security risks, could potentially limit an organisation’s ability to develop. Cisco set out clearly the cost of inaction on these fronts. The network, it said, is a strategic asset for leaders capable of seeing it as less an operational tool and more a competitive edge in an AI-driven future. 

Delivering on this promise may still prove challenging. Cisco found that 97% of CEOs plan to integrate AI into their businesses, but that only 1.7% feel fully prepared to do so. Lack of investment in technology is a significant barrier, with Cisco explaining that decisive technology leadership and collaboration with trusted partners will be crucial for making businesses more resilient. 

Expanding on this point, Oliver Tuszik, President of Cisco EMEA, stated: "Whole businesses will be revolutionised if they can unlock AI's potential to innovate faster, simplify their operations, and withstand digital disruptions. But no one can do it alone. That's why 96% of CEOs are leaning on trusted partners to make the leap."

Keeping AI safe and secure

Discussing AI and security in a recent Cisco blog, Patel expanded on these themes saying that ‘keeping AI safe and secure in an enterprise is a difficult and relatively new problem’. He explained how, unlike traditional applications, AI models can behave unpredictably and that the multi-model, multi-cloud and multi-agent landscape environment of most large enterprises demands a new approach to safety and security. 

Patel said: “When models fail, the consequences can be severe. Safety issues—like bias, toxicity, or inappropriate outputs—must be addressed, alongside threats from external actors exploiting vulnerabilities to steal confidential data or otherwise compromise your security. Model vendors and app builders will implement their own safeguards, but these measures while necessary will inevitably be fragmented and insufficient.”

He said that enterprise security in the age of AI requires a two-pronged approach: continuous AI validation – the process of systematically evaluating and assessing the accuracy, reliability, and performance of an artificial intelligence model – and protection at scale. 

Leaders and their businesses should ensure AI models are fit-for-purpose, and that they don't have vulnerabilities. Cisco uses an algorithmic red teaming solution to do this, sending a series of prompts to an AI model to try and get it to provide responses it shouldn’t. 

To protect at scale, security must be fused directly into the enterprise network, said Patel, reinforcing the importance of overcoming the concerns around network and infrastructure modernisation and investment set out in the company’s CEO Briefing. 

To achieve this, Cisco said CEOs should ‘turn fear into progress’ when it comes to AI, invest in knowledge and skills, upgrade infrastructure and enhance their security posture to prepare for future demand.

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