The Growing Need for Data Management and Risks in Corporate AI Use

[Cengiz Özemli]

As enterprise AI adoption rapidly evolves, new research indicates an increase in risks related to data management and security.

### Developments and Risks in AI Usage
The 2026 AI Adoption & Risk Report provides significant data on the data risks emerging with the widespread use of AI in business processes. The research reveals that businesses are rapidly adopting AI, but traditional technologies are proving inadequate for data security and management.

Nishant Doshi, CEO of Cyberhaven, stated, "Just as enterprise AI adoption is accelerating, we're also seeing its usage fragment and diversify. Security and governance often lag behind rapid development. The real risk for 2026 and beyond isn't AI itself, but a lack of full understanding of how AI is being used."

### Key Findings of the Research
1. AI Adoption Disparities: Enterprise AI adoption is not evenly distributed across the industry. The top 1% of early adopters use over 300 Generative AI (GenAI) tools, while cautious companies typically work with fewer than 15 tools.

2. Risk in GenAI SaaS Tools: 82% of the top 100 most used GenAI SaaS applications fall into the medium to high-risk category. Employees input sensitive data every three days, and 32.3% of ChatGPT usage occurs through personal accounts.

3. Coding Assistants and AI Agents: The use of coding assistants like Cursor, GitHub Copilot, and Claude Code significantly increased in 2025. 90% of developers in AI-adopting companies use these tools, while this rate remains around 50% in typical companies.

### Data Management and Security Approaches
The research indicates that AI usage is unevenly distributed across organizations and at the team level; the most intensive uses often occur in environments with less developed governance and visibility. Enterprise AI is transitioning from an experimental tool to a fundamental part of the infrastructure.

Doshi adds, "The companies that will succeed are those that invest in security approaches that go beyond standard policies and reflect actual usage patterns. By combining visibility, context, and control, they both enable innovation and maintain trust, compliance, and resilience."

### Cyberhaven's Data Security Solutions
Cyberhaven announced its Data Security Posture Management (DSPM) solution. This solution is designed to protect sensitive data wherever it resides and travels, including endpoints, SaaS, cloud, and AI workflows.

### About Cyberhaven
Cyberhaven offers a unified data security platform that secures sensitive data in the age of AI. It integrates DSPM, data loss prevention, insider threat management, and AI security with deep data tracing and AI assistance. Companies can prevent data loss and safely adopt AI.

This report underscores the necessity for data management and security to evolve concurrently with the rapid increase in AI usage.