Relentless Defence: What security leaders in financial services reveal about the AI era

As artificial intelligence reshapes the technology landscape, financial institutions worldwide are grappling with a fundamental challenge: keeping pace with machine-speed threats whilst maintaining infrastructure trust.

In Cisco’s latest global research, Relentless Defense: A global report about cybersecurity in the AI era, 8,000 security leaders across 30 markets shared how they are navigating this shift. The findings reveal a clear picture of the operational and architectural pressures facing the financial sector:

Key financial services findings from the 2026 report: 

• Widespread Disruption: 91% of financial services organisations suffered a disruptive material cyber incident this year, with 40% involving AI-enhanced attacks.
• The Data Silo Barrier: 42% of finance security leaders report that critical security insights are often missed because data is trapped in silos they cannot access.
• The Control Agility Gap: Only 42% of financial institutions can update security controls within 24 hours when a new risk is identified.
• Detection Blind Spots: Only 31% currently run continuous automated threat detection across their environments.
• AI Agent Momentum: 37% of financial institutions have already extensively deployed AI agents within their security operations to manage increasing operational complexity.

To explore these themes and hear insights on navigating this transition, join Cisco’s session with UK&I chief technology officer Rob Lay on “Building trust and security into the AI powered Infrastructure” at 10.35am on the Main Stage on Day Two of Open Banking Expo. → Book Rob Lay’s Partner Session on your event schedule here