Cyber security automation is now business-critical for 100% of Australian organisations
MELBOURNE, Australia. 20th November 2025 - ThreatQuotient, a Securonix company and leader in threat intelligence platforms, has released this year's Evolution of Cybersecurity Automation and AI Adoption Report. This year's study delves into how cyber security teams are operationalising artificial intelligence, examining the key drivers behind AI deployment - from threat detection and response acceleration to predictive analytics and decision support. According to the report, 100% of Australian cyber security professionals (versus 97% of global respondents) now regard automation, increasingly powered by AI technologies, as essential to business operations - a significant rise from 86% of Australian respondents in the previous year. In fact, Australian cyber security professionals have reported the most consistent upward trend in cyber security automation adoption since 2022.
The research, conducted by Opinion Matters, surveyed 750 senior cyber security professionals from large organisations with over 2,000 employees in the UK, USA, and Australia from five industry sectors. Now in its fifth year, the study charts the evolution of cyber security automation and explores AI adoption as cyber security professionals aim to tackle escalating cyberthreats faster and more effectively.
Everyone Wants Automation, but 95% Still Hit Roadblocks
Ninety-five per cent of Australian respondents still face persistent challenges when implementing cyber security automation, and like other countries surveyed, technology issues remain the dominant barrier. However, when it comes to AI adoption, the challenges shift towards human factors such as skills, management buy-in and user adoption. Australia stands out compared to the UK and US respondents for reporting the highest level of skill shortages and siloed departments affecting automation adoption. However, 5% of Australian respondents did report that they hadn't encountered any issues, indicating that as automation matures and focus shifts on AI integration, operational friction is starting to ease.
All regions report increased cyber security automation budgets compared to last year, but Australia has more new funds overall this year, with 55% receiving net new funding compared to 49% of global respondents.
The key performance indicators for automation are evolving toward a new operational standard, with a marked shift away from its impact on employee well-being towards more quantifiable metrics. Australia prioritises operational metrics like Mean Time to Detect (MTTD) and Mean Time to Respond (MTTR) as core indicators of effectiveness, with 60% and 58% of respondents using these as key measurement criteria, respectively, compared to 56% and 54% globally. This pivot reflects a growing emphasis on performance outcomes, as organisations seek tangible, data-driven improvements to validate rising investment levels in automation technologies.
AI Implementation in Cyber Security
This study explores the primary motivations and influences affecting AI deployment. The results highlight that Australia is fairly evenly split, with 50% of organisations prioritising AI adoption to improve productivity (versus 56% globally), while 50% focus on achieving greater efficiency (versus 44% globally). The top use cases for AI adoption for Australian respondents are assisting triage and analysis of actions with a human in the loop and threat research, chosen by 36% of respondents in both cases. Thirty-five per cent aim to use AI for performing automated triage and analysis, indicating fairly strong confidence in its benefits and accuracy.
"Australian organisations are embracing AI-powered automation at an unprecedented pace, and the data shows that this shift is no longer optional; it's essential," said Leon Ward, Chief Transformation Officer at Securonix. "While we're seeing strong leadership support and increased funding, the real challenge lies in execution. Skills shortages, fragmented teams, and geopolitical complexity continue to slow progress."
Leadership Paradox with Executives Both Driving and Blocking AI
Respondents report that pressure from the board is the dominant driver for both efficiency and productivity. Sixty per cent say their senior leadership team is keen for them to adopt AI to achieve efficiency gains, while 68% say their board is pushing them to adopt AI for productivity boosts. However, 31% of Australian respondents also say gaining management buy-in is a top problem they encounter. This contradiction indicates that the strong focus on unlocking the competitive benefits of AI is being hindered by tactical uncertainty over specific use cases.
Blockers and Barriers to AI adoption in Cyber Security
A lack of human skill, AI making incorrect decisions, and technology issues all feature as key challenges of adopting AI in cyber security, and they echo many of the difficulties seen in automation adoption. Australian respondents report the highest rate of AI system failures (31%). Political implications when selecting international suppliers are the top concern (32%) for Australian respondents, followed by worries about relying too heavily on AI or a single provider (31%), with ethical issues ranking third (29%).
"With clear performance metrics and growing maturity, Australia is well-positioned to lead the next phase of cyber security transformation," Leon Ward added. "But it is a balancing act between innovation and exerting caution at the same time. Despite this, the enthusiasm and momentum in this region are undeniable."
The research also compares sectors, analyses roles, and examines how cyber security automation and AI are being adopted across the three surveyed regions. To read the full report, visit https://www.threatq.com/cybersecurity-automation-adoption-report.
About ThreatQuotient, a Securonix company
ThreatQuotient improves security operations by fusing disparate data sources, tools, and teams to accelerate threat detection, investigation, and response (TDIR). ThreatQ is the first purpose-built, data-driven threat intelligence platform that helps teams prioritise, automate, and collaborate on security incidents; enables more focused decision-making; and maximises limited resources by integrating existing processes and technologies into a unified workspace. The result is reduced noise, clear priority threats, and the ability to automate processes with high-fidelity data. ThreatQuotient's leading integration marketplace, data management, orchestration, and automation capabilities support multiple use cases, including threat intelligence management and sharing, incident response, threat hunting, spear phishing, alert triage, and vulnerability management.
