Thales report finds manufacturers facing AI and cloud data security gaps

Thales has published the 2026 edition of its Data Threat Report focused on manufacturing, finding that 67% of respondents name rapid change in AI ecosystems as their top AI security risk and 83% have bought security tools or services because of AI concerns. Some 61% report having experienced deepfake attacks, with most of those citing reputational damage.

Data visibility remains weak. Only 31% of manufacturing respondents say they know completely where their data is stored, against 34% across the whole survey, and 37% say they can classify all of it. Fewer than half of sensitive cloud data is encrypted, and just 8% encrypt 75% to 100% of it, roughly half the survey-wide figure of 14%.

Cloud infrastructure is the leading target, named by 36% of manufacturers, ahead of cloud-delivered SaaS at 29% and cloud management infrastructure at 26%. Credential theft and misappropriated secrets are the top attack technique, with 57% reporting an increase. On quantum risk, 59% name future encryption compromise as their main concern and 61% are prototyping post-quantum algorithms.

The report also contrasts automotive manufacturers with the wider sector: 12% of automotive respondents suffered a cloud breach in the past year, 7 points below all manufacturers, while 39% rank malicious insiders with financial motives as their top concern against 32% elsewhere. Automotive respondents report more prompt injection, sensitive information disclosure and supply chain attacks, and greater tool sprawl.