Anxiety is growing among Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) in security operation centres, particularly around Chinese AI giant DeepSeek.
AI was heralded as a new dawn for business efficiency and innovation, but for the people on the front lines of corporate defence, it’s casting some very long and dark shadows.
Four in five (81%) UK CISOs believe the Chinese AI chatbot requires urgent regulation from the government. They fear that without swift intervention, the tool could become the catalyst for a full-scale national cyber crisis.Â
This isn’t speculative unease; it’s a direct response to a technology whose data handling practices and potential for misuse are raising alarm bells at the highest levels of enterprise security.
The findings, commissioned by Absolute Security for its UK Resilience Risk Index Report, are based on a poll of 250 CISOs at large UK organisations. The data suggests that the theoretical threat of AI has now landed firmly on the CISO’s desk, and their reactions have been decisive.
In what would have been almost unthinkable a couple of years ago, over a third (34%) of these security leaders have already implemented outright bans on AI tools due to cybersecurity concerns. A similar number, 30 percent, have already pulled the plug on specific AI deployments within their organisations.
This retreat is not a sign of Luddism but a pragmatic response to an escalating problem. Businesses are already facing complex and hostile threats, as evidenced by high-profile incidents like the recent Harrods breach. CISOs are struggling to keep pace, and the addition of sophisticated AI tools into the attacker’s arsenal is a challenge many feel ill-equipped to handle.
A growing security readiness gap for AI platforms like DeepSeek
The core of the issue with platforms like DeepSeek lies in their potential to expose sensitive corporate data and be weaponised by cybercriminals.
Three out of five (60%) CISOs predict a direct increase in cyberattacks as a result of DeepSeek’s proliferation. An identical proportion reports that the technology is already tangling their privacy and governance frameworks, making an already difficult job almost impossible.
This has prompted a shift in perspective. Once viewed as a potential silver bullet for cybersecurity, AI is now seen by a growing number of professionals as part of the problem. The survey reveals that 42 percent of CISOs now consider AI to be a bigger threat than a help to their defensive efforts.

Andy Ward, SVP International of Absolute Security, said: “Our research highlights the significant risks posed by emerging AI tools like DeepSeek, which are rapidly reshaping the cyber threat landscape.
“As concerns grow over their potential to accelerate attacks and compromise sensitive data, organisations must act now to strengthen their cyber resilience and adapt security frameworks to keep pace with these AI-driven threats.
“That’s why four in five UK CISOs are urgently calling for…
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