Veeam Software has released its Data Trust and Resilience Report 2026, highlighting a growing disconnect between how confident organizations feel about cyber resilience and the reality of recovery outcomes. As ransomware, regulatory pressure, and AI-driven data risk grow, even mature organizations are finding that confidence in recovery and proof of recovery are fundamentally different capabilities.
The report, based on survey responses from more than 900 senior IT, security, and risk leaders worldwide, found that while 90% of organizations express confidence in their ability to recover from a cyber incident, fewer than one in three ransomware victims fully recovered their data. On average, organizations recovered just 72% of affected data following a ransomware attack.
Confidence in recovery from a ransomware attack is high, but the data tells a different story – and AI is only widening that gap
Anand Eswaran, Chief Executive Officer, Veeam
Key findings
A critical shift from confidence to proven recovery is needed
The Data Trust and Resilience 2026 report highlights why ‘recovery confidence’ must be paired with validated recovery capabilities and measurable outcomes:
- 90% say they’re confident they can recover from a cyber incident within recovery time objectives (RTOs) yet only 69% say RTOs are fully aligned with business continuity goals.
- Among organizations hit by ransomware where operations or data were affected, only 28% fully recovered all affected data; 44% recovered less than 75%.
- Among organizations that experienced a cyber incident, 42% reported customer/constituent disruption, 41% reported financial loss or revenue impact, and 38% reported extended downtime of critical systems.
- Regulation is becoming a core resilience driver as 33% cite regulatory shifts as a top emerging threat, nearly matching cyber attacks (36%).
AI Is moving faster than governance – and increasing data exposure
As AI shifts from experimentation to execution, the report shows that many organizations are struggling to maintain visibility and control over data flows across apps, clouds, and third-party services.
- 43% say AI adoption is outpacing their ability to secure data and models.
- 42% report limited visibility into all AI tools or models used across the organization.
- 40% say security policies have not yet been updated to address AI-specific risks.
- 25% say shadow IT and unauthorized AI tool usage are a primary concern related to employee AI tool use and data security.
Stronger recoveries: four practices that matter
Across industries and maturity levels, the report identifies four capabilities consistently linked to stronger outcomes:
- Clear visibility into enterprise data and AI risk in production and in backups.
- Enforced security controls (not policy alone).
- Proven recovery through realistic testing and validation.
- Executive alignment on ownership, reporting, and ‘what recovered means’.
