The State of Trust: United Kingdom

We surveyed 1,000 business and IT leaders across the UK to hear what’s top of mind when it comes to security, compliance and the future of trust. One key insight? They’re falling behind AI risks—and spending way more time and energy proving trust than building it.

Read the full report
Cover page of Vanta's report titled 'The State of Trust: United Kingdom, Third Edition' with colorful curved segments on a dark purple background.Infographic titled 'Trust in the age of AI' showing data about AI risks, adoption, trust pressure, manual proof work, and automation benefits.Page titled 'Risks are rising, but budgets aren't budging' highlighting that 71% of security decision-makers say risk has never been higher, with text on increasing cybersecurity threats and a donut chart comparing 71% in 2025 to 58% in 2024.
56%
spend more time posturing than protecting
53%
say AI risks outpace their expertise
96%
of adopters say AI is making their security teams more effective

Security frameworks
—or security theatre?

Trust can make or break a business. But without continuous, automated trust management focused on real security outcomes, today’s security frameworks feel more like performative box checking than true protection.

6 out of 10
security teams are posturing more than protecting

Knowledge gaps 
= security gaps

AI-driven attacks are getting bigger, faster, and more sophisticated—making risk much more difficult to contain. Without automation to respond quickly to AI threats, teams are forced to react without a plan in place.

53%
say AI threats outpace expertise

AI doom to AI boom

Though they bring new risks, AI and automation are also making teams much more effective—and much less burned out. In fact, over half (51%) of the leaders we talked to credited it with giving them more time for strategic, high-level security work.

96%
say AI makes their team more effective

See how your team stacks up—read the full report here.