Tech fragmentation cited as biggest cyber challenge

Palo Alto Networks has released new research showing that nearly two thirds (64%) of UK organisations cite technology complexity and a lack of interoperability as the most significant challenge towards building a sophisticated security posture.

This figure surpasses the average of European organisations surveyed (55%), revealing the urgent need to streamline security systems to tackle the evolving threat landscape.

Across European organisations, AI-based threats ranked as the biggest cyber risk in 2025, cited by 66% of all respondents and 62% in the UK. Only data privacy and regulatory compliance ranked higher in the UK (both 68%).

However, the research also highlights the importance of tackling AI with AI and identified widespread confidence in how organisations are using the technology. This includes 91% of UK respondents stating they trust the security of AI applications used in their business, with 82% confident they are utilising the technology to its full potential, and 61% citing enhanced threat detection as the biggest use case for AI for security applications in 2025.

The Palo Alto Networks survey, conducted by Vitreous World, features responses from C-Level executives and senior management security professionals across the UK, France, Germany and Spain. It analyses their attitudes towards the impact of tech fragmentation in areas such as interoperability and consolidation of tools, as well as AI and the challenges that come with implementing sophisticated security postures.

After technology complexity and a lack of interoperability, managing excessive security vendors and tools emerged as the second biggest hurdle to developing a robust security framework, cited by over a third (35%) of all respondents.

Other key stats from the research include:

• Technology fragmentation continues to be an obstacle to effective cybersecurity postures, as 50% of UK respondents agree fragmented solutions are limiting their ability to deal with threats.

• However, the consequences of technology fragmentation have become even more far-reaching from an operational standpoint, resulting in increased cost inefficiencies for UK organisations including rising training costs (48%) and procurement expenses (44%).

• The personal impact of fragmentation on staff is also apparent, with 48% of UK respondents saying fragmentation has increased workloads for security operators and 39% saying it is contributing to rising staff attrition levels.

• In light of the significant cost inefficiencies and poor interoperability resulting from fragmentation, simplification and integration of tech stacks is a priority for 92% of UK organisations in 2025.

• Although 90% of UK organisations are open to a platform-based approach to security, only 41% have either fully consolidated or mostly consolidated their cyber solutions on security platforms. This reveals a major disconnect between the intentions and actions towards cyber protection.

Scott McKinnon, Chief Security Officer, UK & Ireland at Palo Alto Networks, says, “Technology fragmentation continues to leave organisations vulnerable to security breaches. With the proliferation of solutions, the task at hand is to simplify and integrate tools to ensure they are interoperable and working within a connected ecosystem. This has become all the more crucial in the face of increasingly sophisticated attacks, with AI creating a powerful toolbox for cybercriminals that’s more readily available.”

The path forward is clear: businesses must unify their defences and harness AI within their security postures to protect themselves against the threats that leverage this same technology.

Through Precision AI, Palo Alto Networks employs generative AI to tackle evolving threats using advanced machine and deep learning. Coupled with its platformization strategy, which integrates security solutions into a single system, the company ensures rapid incident detection in 10 seconds and resolution within 1 minute.