Organizations Overlook AI Risk as Governance Fails to Keep Up

Companies are rushing to adopt AI, but new research from Trend Micro reveals many organizations are doing it despite serious security concerns. In the Philippines, businesses admit pressure to keep up with competitors is pushing AI rollout faster than governance and protection can handle, raising fears over data exposure, shadow AI tools, and cyberattacks powered by automation. 

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in workplaces, experts say the real challenge is no longer just using AI, but controlling it safely before the risks grow even bigger.

Global AI security leader TrendAI™ has published new research revealing that organizations worldwide are pushing ahead with AI deployment despite known security and compliance risks.

The new global study of 3,700 IT decision makers (ITDMs) and business decision makers (BDMs), including 200 from the Philippines, revealed that the majority of ITDMs (67 percent) and BDMs (72 percent) from the Philippines have felt pressured to approve AI despite security concerns. Further, one in seven described those concerns as “extreme,” but overrode them to keep pace with competitors and internal demand. This is despite the majority of the Philippine organizations employing various strategies to maintain data integrity in AI systems in both data security (76 percent) and data quality management (72 percent). 

Rachel Jin, Chief Platform & Business Officer, Head of TrendAI: “Organizations are not lacking awareness of risk; they’re lacking the conditions to manage it. When deployment is driven by competitive pressure rather than governance maturity, you create a situation where AI is embedded into critical systems without the controls needed to manage it safely. This research reinforces our focus on helping organizations drive solid business outcomes with AI while still managing business risk.”

The risk of pressure-driven AI rollout is exacerbated by governance inconsistencies and unclear responsibility for AI risk that are becoming widespread. The same is true for security teams working on a reactive basis to top-down AI rollout decisions, which often leads to workarounds and increased use of unsanctioned or “shadow” AI tools.

Recent TrendAI™ threat research reinforces this shift, showing how attackers are already using AI to automate reconnaissance, accelerate phishing campaigns, and lower the barrier to entry for cybercrime, increasing both the speed and scale of attacks.

AI adoption is outpacing control

Organizations are deploying AI faster than they can manage the associated risks, creating a widening gap between ambition and oversight. Only 33 percent of ITDMs and 44 percent of BDMs feel highly prepared for the pace of AI adoption.

The development of AI policy and governance frameworks is part of organizations’ preparation, with over half of ITDMs and BDMs (56 percent and 58 percent, respectively) saying comprehensive policies are already in place. However, a third of the organizations are still drafting their AI governance frameworks, with top barriers being unclear regulation or compliance standards (53 percent), as well as limited security or data expertise (51 percent).

Trust in autonomous AI remains uncertain

Confidence in more advanced, autonomous systems is still in the maturing phase. More than half (60 percent) believe agentic AI will significantly improve cyber defense in the short term, but there are ongoing concerns around data access, misuse, and lack of oversight remaining present.

The data shows where those concerns are landing. More than five in ten organizations (57 percent) say AI agents accessing sensitive data is their biggest risk. More than half warn that malicious prompts (53 percent) and abuse of trusted AI status (51 percent) could compromise security. Meanwhile, 36 percent point to a growing attack surface for cyber criminals, and 34 percent cite risks linked to autonomous code deployment.

At the same time, close to a third (30 percent) admit they lack observability or auditability over these systems, raising serious questions about how organizations can control or intervene once agents are deployed.

With these growing risks, nearly 2 in 3 (65 percent) organizations in the Philippines support the introduction of AI “kill switch” mechanisms to shut down systems in the event of failure or misuse, while a third (33 percent) remain unsure. This lack of consensus highlights a deeper issue: organizations are moving towards autonomous AI without agreement on how to retain control when it matters most.

“Agentic AI is moving organizations into a new risk category,” added Rachel Jin. “Our research shows the concerns are already clear, from sensitive data exposure to loss of oversight. Without visibility and control, organizations are deploying systems they don’t fully understand or govern, and that risk is only going to increase unless action is taken.”

To read the full report, visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/explore/trendai-global-ai-study/