AI Outpacing Defenses The most persistent vulnerability associated with AI is the blinding speed of its adoption, suggested the findings of JumpCloud’s Q1 2026 IT Trends Report. Six out of 10 IT professionals polled by JumpCloud agree that AI is outpacing their organization’s ability to protect against threats. That number remained nearly the same for this third year in a row that the question was asked. What’s more, these feelings of failure in keeping pace with threats is highest among AI mature organizations (66 percent). These are sobering signals suggesting that IT departments are no closer to a solution than they were when ChatGPT made its public debut, and organizations that are most experienced with AI recognize the existential security gap most clearly, said JumpCloud executives. Currently, three-quarters of organizations are at least somewhat concerned about the security risks introduced by AI, and AI mature organizations again are 30 percent more likely to be very concerned than less mature organizations. Even when AI helps get a lot more done, it isn’t an easy road to get there, showed JumpCloud’s findings. More than a third (38 percent) of the IT leaders who find AI helpful in their jobs also admit that it adds more complexity to their work. It’s not just about external threats or wider attack surfaces. Traditional software operates more predictably than AI, JumpCloud researchers pointed out, responding directly to commands in a binary fashion. But AI – especially in the form of autonomous AI agents – introduces a new software behavior; it makes choices on its own volition. It accomplishes multi-step tasks with multiple decision points along the way. “This is why it’s so hard to integrate AI into more critical work,” argued JumpCloud executives. “IT leaders are grappling with this right now. How do you incorporate these powerful, autonomous tools without losing control or visibility?,” they continued. “How do you keep confidence in the integrity of the process?” So, it’s no wonder that integrating AI into existing IT workflows is the number one gap challenging IT teams related to AI adoption, named by 50 percent of respondents. Close on its heels is how to manage risk, compliance and legal exposure (46 percent). “The more ready an organization is for AI adoption, the more likely these challenges arise,” said JumpCloud executives. All the while, the use of agentic AI is rising rapidly. More than eight in 10 respondents reported to already using it, and nearly half that many (37 percent) said unauthorized access or privilege escalation by AI agents was a serious security threat. On top of that is the ever-present issue of shadow AI, which often leads to risks of data leaks and exposing intellectual property. “The biggest security and governance gap that hurts a company’s AI readiness is the unsanctioned use of AI tools by employees,” said the JumpCloud report. When IT leaders were asked to name the top barriers to secure adoption as they scaled its usage, “limited oversight of AI usage and permissions” and “limited visibility in AI usage” landed as the top two answers, ahead of both the lack of staff expertise and budget or tooling limitations. “The data is clear: AI maturity isn’t measured by how fast you deploy but by how securely you scale,” said Joel Rennich, senior vice president, product management, JumpCloud. “The maturity illusion exposes a dangerous reality – you cannot secure a dynamic AI layer on a fragmented operational base. As shadow AI and autonomous agents expand the attack surface, organizations must bridge the gap between their perceived capabilities and their actual infrastructure readiness” The path to scaling AI safely lies in IT unification, argued Rennich, consolidating identity and access controls for both humans and bots to turn AI from a potential liability into a sustainable engine for growth. o AI & AUTOMATION By Martin Vilaboy How has your contact center operations head count changed over the past 12 months? Source: Execs in the Know Which risks related to AI are most pressing for your organization? Source: JumpCloud survey of IT leaders, 2026 In which areas of your organization are you using (or planning to use) AI the most? Source: WBBA; Omdia survey of global telecoms. How AI is Impacting Security Postures New threats: AI-driven threats have forced us to adjust our security approach New attack surface: Business uses AI, we have to protect our organization New compliance requirements: Auditors require proof of data security and privacy in AI-based systems Stronger defenses: Cybersecurity AI tools improved detection and response capabilities Not sure / too early to tell Time and effort savings: Offloaded some workload from our IT/security team to AI We implemented cybersecurity AI tools and are still assessing their impact We have not implemented AI tools, but we are considering them 37% 30% 29% 28% 23% 20% 19% 30% 33% 38% 29% 2023 2024 2025 29% IN-HOUSE AND OUTSOURCED COMBINED 46% 25% 19% 42% 39% 43% 42% 48% 38% 39% 38% 46% 36% 42% 28% 41% 26% 33% 41% 39% 31% 22% 21% 17% 11% Unauthorized access to sensitive data AI-generated phishing or malware Data leakage or compliance violations Unregulated use of AI tools AI attacking AI Model inaccuracy or hallucination Shadow IT via AI apps Lack of AI explainability/ auditability Customer service and support Cybersecurity & treat detection Cloud & IT operations Sales, marketing, and customer insights Today In two years Network automation, operations, and design Product development & innovation Increased Kept same Decreased 12 CHANNELVISION | SPRING 2026
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