The impact of digital disruption and the rise of AI was the fastest-rising category in the Risk in Focus 2025 survey. Photograph: Getty ImagesThe Risk in Focus 2025 report by the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors UK and Ireland found about 83 per cent of firms rated cyber issues as their chief concern. The report reviews various risks companies face in the future, with many of the findings focused on the need for digital controls.
Incidents such as the global Crowdstrike outage earlier this year and the Health Service Executive cyberattack in 2021 show that growing dependency on technology is accompanied by bigger risks to companies.
Outside of a digital focus, the report found that managing people and retaining employees came in second place in the survey with 52 per cent of respondents putting it in their top five concerns. Some 39 per cent of respondents see geopolitical uncertainty as a top-five risk, driven mostly by the Middle East conflict and Ukraine war.