More Than One-Third of Industrial Organizations See Cybersecurity Risk as a Top Obstacle to Growth, New Global Study Finds

Industrial companies are increasing cybersecurity investment as connected operations, AI adoption and IT/OT convergence expand operational risk

MILWAUKEE, Sept. 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world’s largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, today released “Operational Resilience in the Age of Connectivity,” an industry insights report based on input from 1,500 manufacturing and industrial operations decision makers across 17 countries. The research reveals a disconnect between confidence in comprehensive cybersecurity protection and operational risk. Although industrial organizations are investing in cybersecurity, those investments do not automatically translate into operational resilience.

As organizations continue to connect information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) systems, scale AI initiatives, and expand the use of operational data across the enterprise, they create new dependencies that can increase exposure to cyber-related risk. In fact, more than one-third of industrial organizations see cybersecurity risk as one of the biggest external obstacles to growth, underscoring the need to strengthen resilience as operations become more connected.

Key findings from the report include:

• Organizations remain confident despite rising incident exposure: While 46% of organizations experienced a cyber incident in the past year, 90% say they are confident in their ability to prevent, contain or recover from one.

• Cybersecurity delivers strong perceived ROI: 62% of organizations have already invested in cybersecurity platforms, and cybersecurity ranks as the second-highest ROI-generating technology investment reported by respondents.

• Organizations are looking to AI as part of their cybersecurity response: 45% plan to apply AI and machine learning to cybersecurity initiatives over the next 12 months.

• IT/OT convergence creates both risk and opportunity: IT and OT integration points rank as the second-most vulnerable to cyber incidents. At the same time, 37% say securing IT/OT architecture will drive positive business outcomes over the next five years.

“Industrial organizations understand that cybersecurity directly affects uptime, continuity, productivity and growth, but technology investments alone do not create operational resilience or confidence in an organization’s security posture,” said Rick Kaun, global director, cybersecurity services at Rockwell Automation. “True resilience is built when cybersecurity becomes an integral part of business strategy. Organizations that proactively manage risk and prepare for disruption are better positioned to protect operations, sustain production and gain a competitive advantage.”