--- title: "CEOs now rank cyber as the top risk to growth.… | Firevault" url: https://fire-vault.com/news/kpmg-ceo-outlook-2026-cybersecurity-top-risk-to-growth description: "KPMG's 2026 Global CEO Outlook finds 31 per cent of 1,400 CEOs name cyber and data security as the greatest risk to growth, and 45 per cent have increased…" lang: en-GB --- Insight # CEOs now rank cyber as the top risk to growth. What should they buy first? KPMG's 2026 Global CEO Outlook finds 31 per cent of 1,400 CEOs name cyber and data security as the greatest risk to growth, and 45 per cent have increased investment. The harder question is where that money should go. **Mark Fermor**CTO, CMO and Founder, Firevault Published 15 October 2026 · 4 min read Share LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffire-vault.com%2Fnews%2Fkpmg-ceo-outlook-2026-cybersecurity-top-risk-to-growth)Email Empty boardroom at dusk overlooking a city skyline, with a tablet showing a risk chart on the table ## What KPMG found On 15 October 2026, KPMG published its 12th annual Global CEO Outlook, based on a survey of 1,400 chief executives conducted between 11 August and 21 September 2026. Every respondent leads a company with annual revenue above US$500 million, and a third lead companies with more than US$10 billion. The headline is clear. 31 per cent of CEOs name cyber and data security as the greatest risk to growth over the next three years, ahead of global economic uncertainty (28 per cent) and geopolitical instability and regulatory pressures (26 per cent). CEOs are acting on it. 45 per cent say they have increased investment in cybersecurity and digital risk resilience. 59 per cent are placing greater focus on internal data governance and controls as part of their AI and data sovereignty (https://fire-vault.com/why-oss/control) strategies. And 52 per cent name cybersecurity as a leading challenge in implementing AI, second only to ethical concerns (57 per cent). ## Why this matters This is a notable shift. Cyber risk has moved from a technology line item to the risk chief executives believe is most likely to hold back growth. Unlike the economy or geopolitics, it is also one of the risks a board can directly influence. But a bigger budget is not the same as a better outcome. Much of the money spent on cyber security goes on more of the same: more software, more monitoring, more layers placed around systems that remain permanently connected. Those controls matter. They also share a common assumption, that the organisation can keep defending a path which is always open. ## The question boards should ask The useful question is not "how much more should we spend?" It is "what must still be trustworthy on the day our connected estate is not?" For most organisations, the answer is a short list: the records, recovery copies and critical data without which the business cannot operate, prove its position or meet its obligations. KPMG's finding that 59 per cent of CEOs are tightening internal data governance points the same way. Governance starts with knowing what that data is, where it lives and who, or what, can reach it. ## Resilience the CEO can point to KPMG also reports that CEOs see faster decision making under pressure (47 per cent) and the ability to identify, prioritise and manage risk (39 per cent) as increasingly essential leadership skills. Both depend on evidence. A CEO deciding how to respond to an incident needs to know which data has remained beyond the attacker's reach, not simply that controls were in place. That is the thinking behind Offline Secure Storage (https://fire-vault.com/offline-secure-storage)® from Firevault. Dedicated storage stays physically disconnected by default and is reached only through an authorised, identity-verified session. When nobody needs the data, there is no standing network path to it. It is not a replacement for good security practice, and no single technology removes every risk. It gives the board something it can verify: a clean copy held outside the environment under attack. For connected operations that cannot simply be switched off, Control by Firevault applies the same principle to network paths, third-party access and isolation decisions. ## The takeaway KPMG's survey confirms that chief executives now see cyber risk as the principal threat to growth. The organisations that turn that concern into resilience will be the ones that spend first on protecting what they cannot afford to lose, and on being able to prove it. Physics, not promises. _Source: KPMG International, "CEOs make cybersecurity top investment priority after naming it greatest risk to growth", 15 October 2026. Figures quoted are KPMG's survey results._ ## Questions Of 1,400 CEOs surveyed, 31 per cent named cyber and data security as the greatest risk to growth over the next three years, and 45 per cent said they had increased investment in cybersecurity and digital risk resilience. KPMG International published the findings on 15 October 2026. The survey was conducted between 11 August and 21 September 2026. Start with the data the organisation cannot operate without, and make sure a clean copy remains beyond the reach of a compromised network. Offline Secure Storage keeps that copy physically disconnected by default. ## Sources and reporting notes 1. kpmg.com (https://kpmg.com/xx/en/media/press-releases/2026/10/ceo-make-cybersecurity-top-investment-priority.html)Primary reporting referenced in this analysis. Incident facts are attributed to the named sources; the recommendations and product discussion are Firevault analysis by Mark Fermor. About the author **Mark Fermor** CTO, CMO and Founder of Firevault. Mark writes on physical control, offline storage and the incidents that show why both matter. ## More insight - Insight · 27 Aug 2026**Airport WiFi sign-ups turn into a national data problem as 8.7 million customer records are accessed**_Read the analysis_: https://fire-vault.com/news/manchester-airports-group-data-breach-87-million-customers-2026 - Insight · 27 Aug 2026**T-Mobile pulled the plug on Salt Typhoon. It took a car journey to get there.**_Read the analysis_: https://fire-vault.com/news/tmobile-severs-network-cable-salt-typhoon-hackers-2026 - Insight · 26 Aug 2026**Beacon breach: 1,500 charities exposed and an HIV charity's health data stolen**_Read the analysis_: https://fire-vault.com/news/beacon-charity-database-breach-hiv-charity-health-data-2026 - Insight · 23 Aug 2026**Iran-linked hackers shut down a UK power plant for four days**_Read the analysis_: https://fire-vault.com/news/iran-linked-hackers-uk-power-plant-shutdown-2026 - Insight · 22 Aug 2026**GTA 6 leaks: a nightmare or a blip for the biggest video game of the year?**_Read the analysis_: https://fire-vault.com/news/gta-6-leaks-rockstar-development-footage-2026 - Insight · 18 Aug 2026**Nine PBS: 50 Terabytes of History Trapped by a Cloud Vendor That Closed**_Read the analysis_: https://fire-vault.com/news/nine-pbs-archives-cloud-vendor-shutdown-2026 Back to the Knowledge Vault: https://fire-vault.com/learn/knowledge Why #OSS ### Keep a clean copy out of reach. Offline Secure Storage® keeps one copy physically disconnected at the hardware level between sessions. Why #OSS: https://fire-vault.com/why-oss Control ### Govern the paths attackers depend on. Physical, out-of-band control of selected network paths, composed into ten Blueprints. Explore Control: https://fire-vault.com/control Image: Vault (https://fire-vault.com/__l5e/assets-v1/b9413e6e-5b45-442d-ab80-67cf0c578ba6/oss-approved-vault.png) Ready to start? ### Create your Vault online. Business Vaults from £360 a month inc VAT, on a 36-month commitment. 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