In 2024, consumers based in Germany, Australia, United Kingdom, and the United States expressed their opinions on privacy risks posed by artificial intelligence. Only ** percent of them believed retailers could ensure data privacy when setting up AI-powered tools. Almost ** percent of surveyed shoppers thought retailers had to prioritize ethical use of AI.

As of 2023, over 90 percent of the respondents claim their companies must invest more into reassuring customers their data is being used for intended and legitimate purposes only throughout the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

According to a survey conducted at the EmTech Digital conference in March 2019, U.S. business leaders shared their opinions on trust issues with regard to AI data quality and privacy. Nearly half of respondents reported a lack of trust in the quality of AI data in their companies, showing that there is still a long way to go to get quality AI data.

In 2024, the main concern of chief HR officers concerning artificial intelligence (AI) and ethics in the workplace was *******************************. The issue that was second in order of concern was ******************************************, with just over half of respondents who gave this as their answer.

Europe is the region most concerned with privacy and data governance risks among global organizations in 2024. It is followed closely by Asia, where nearly ** percent of organizations shared the same concern.

In 2023, 62 percent of surveyed internet users worldwide expressed concerns regarding organizational use of AI. A further 60 percent said they had already lost trust in companies because of their use of AI. However, some 48 percent of the survey respondents said AI can positively impact and help improve our lives. Furthermore, 54 percent said they would share anonymized personal data to improve AI products.

During a December 2023 survey in the United States, nearly ** percent of consumers aged 55 to 64 were concerned about data privacy when interacting with brands digitally. Among interviewees aged 25 to 34, the respective share stood at roughly ** percent.

According to a May 2023 survey of internet users in the United States, around 40 percent of the respondents worried about companies selling their personal data or people stealing their identity online. A further 15 percent expressed concerns about law enforcement monitoring what they do online.

A worldwide survey carried out in 2024 showed that Boomers are the most concerned about the use of personal data when shopping online. 60 percent of them avoided sharing personal details because they did not trust data privacy with AI technologies.

As of June 2024, 98 percent of countries in Europe or 44 out of 45 countries, had data privacy legislation in place. Furthermore, nine percent had the legislation drafted. Nevertheless, 15 percent of markets worldwide had no data privacy legislation yet, and five percent have not provided any data on such laws.

According to a 2023 survey of cybersecurity professionals, over ** percent of respondents worldwide considered data privacy and security as the biggest concern about incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into their cybersecurity operations. AI effectiveness ranked second, according to ** percent of respondents. Overall, ** percent of respondents saw lack of skills or expertise as the main challenge associated with integrating AI into cybersecurity operations.

A survey conducted in April and May 2023 found that 60 percent of the companies that do business in the United States find it challenging to track the status of the data privacy legislation and the differences between state laws when preparing for changes in the data privacy laws. The challenge for around 50 percent of the respondents were increasing their budget because of the changes.

According to a survey conducted in February 2023, 74 percent of the adults in the United States mentioned concerns about their data privacy in regards to artificial intelligence (AI). Overall, worries about AI-powered searched engines were very frequent among respondents, as 68 percent were concerned about misinformation and included in results from these tools while more than 63 percent of those expressed concerns about the accuracy of AI-generated results. Meanwhile, more than half of adults in the country were interested in AI-powered online search among other AI-related products.

In 2024, security and data privacy concerns emerged as the leading challenges for banks adopting artificial intelligence. Almost ** percent of respondents identified security and data privacy as the primary AI obstacle in their businesses. Closely following this concern, ** percent of survey participants highlighted the lack of AI skills or expertise among the workforce as another critical impediment to AI implementation, and ** percent cited the difficulty in measuring return on investment.

According to a 2023 survey of cybersecurity professionals, nearly ** percent of respondents worldwide considered improved threat detection as the most significant benefit of incorporating artificial intelligence into their cybersecurity operations. Improved vulnerability management ranked second, according to ** percent of respondents. Overall, over one-third of respondents saw the automation applications of AI as a way to ease talent shortage issues in cybersecurity operations. Generative AI is everywhere As a phenomenon that has taken the internet by storm, generative AI is increasingly being tested for business functions, including cybersecurity. Generative AI-powered solutions can search through vast amounts of data to identify abnormal behavior and detect malicious activity. Consequently, CEOs and IT professionals alike expect generative AI to be increasingly used to bolster cybersecurity, offering greater speed, accuracy, and cost-effectiveness. The other side of the coin Despite the security benefits of generative AI, there is the other side of the coin to account for, as the same advantages can also benefit hostile actors’ capabilities, such as phishing, malware development, and deepfakes. Looking forward, companies will have to adapt and stay up to speed so that generative AI does not end providing overall cyber advantage to attackers.

In 2023, violation of data protection and privacy was reported as an obstacle to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in Norway, with the wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles industry reporting the highest share of ** percent.

According to a 2024 survey on digital usage in China, over a third of Chinese internet users said they used ad blockers when surfing the internet. One in five respondents expressed concerns about internet companies misusing their digital data.

Privacy or data security issues were mentioned as the biggest concern about generative artificial intelligence usage in 2024, according to responding adults in the United States. Around 37 percent of current users of this technology mentioned this as a matter of concern, while 45 percent of non-users stated this. Further issues related to this technology, like unauthorized use of one's own original work, lack of transparency on how it works, and potential effects of this technology on the environment, were much higher among current users. On the other hand, non-users were considerably more worried about the potential usage to create and spread harmful content.

In 2025, approximately 66 percent of executives worldwide report concern about the data privacy and security risks related to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in their companies. Lack of control or understanding of AI decisions and regulatory challenges and compliance follow, being mentioned by about 48 and 44 percent of the organizations, respectively.

In 2024, the number of data compromises in the United States stood at 3,158 cases. Meanwhile, over 1.35 billion individuals were affected in the same year by data compromises, including data breaches, leakage, and exposure. While these are three different events, they have one thing in common. As a result of all three incidents, the sensitive data is accessed by an unauthorized threat actor. Industries most vulnerable to data breaches Some industry sectors usually see more significant cases of private data violations than others. This is determined by the type and volume of the personal information organizations of these sectors store. In 2024 the financial services, healthcare, and professional services were the three industry sectors that recorded most data breaches. Overall, the number of healthcare data breaches in some industry sectors in the United States has gradually increased within the past few years. However, some sectors saw decrease. Largest data exposures worldwide In 2020, an adult streaming website, CAM4, experienced a leakage of nearly 11 billion records. This, by far, is the most extensive reported data leakage. This case, though, is unique because cyber security researchers found the vulnerability before the cyber criminals. The second-largest data breach is the Yahoo data breach, dating back to 2013. The company first reported about one billion exposed records, then later, in 2017, came up with an updated number of leaked records, which was three billion. In March 2018, the third biggest data breach happened, involving India’s national identification database Aadhaar. As a result of this incident, over 1.1 billion records were exposed.