Swedish business sector's preparedness against cyber threats has improved somewhat over the past year, according to Cisco's Annual Cybersecurity IndexBut in perhaps the most important category – AI – Swedish companies are lagging behind.

Negative results in previous report

Over the past year, Sweden's cybersecurity preparedness, both for business and society, has been a hot topic. In the spring of 2024, Cisco released a global report on preparedness against cyber threats in which Sweden stood out negatively on several points. Swedish organizations appeared to be both poorly prepared to handle cyberattacks, and with greater overconfidence in their abilities, than many other countries in Europe.

Uncertain world – new figures from 2025

Now releasing Cisco This year's edition of the survey, in an equally uncertain world situation and after several large-scale attacks continued to cause damage and disruption to businesses, the public sector, authorities and civil society.

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About the Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index

Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index, which is now being released for third year, is based on responses from more than 8,000 business leaders and cybersecurity experts in 30 countries.

AI protection lagging behind

One of the areas where Sweden is underperforming compared to the average within AI, the most current and complex issue in today's threat landscape. The rapid development of AI technology gives attackers access to new and powerful criminal tools.

AI is used by criminals – but also as a defense

When it comes to understanding AI-related threats and risks, Sweden is firmly in the European bottom tier, while 84 percent of organizations have been affected by AI-related incidents in the past year, such as AI-generated phishing attempts.

“It's a very high number, but it's not surprising…” – Henrik Bergqvist, Cisco Sweden

AI threats expected to increase in 2025

“So far, we have mainly seen AI to be used to simplify and streamline traditional cyberattacks…” – Henrik Bergqvist

Skills shortage slows down AI security

AI is not only a tool for criminals, but also enables more advanced and powerful security solutions. But The report states that Swedish Businesses use AI-based security solutions to a lesser extent than most other European countries.

Lack of resources and experts

A key factor here is the skills shortage – 62 percent of Swedish companies are unsure whether their operations have sufficient resources and expertise to evaluate AI threats and 60 percent have 10 or more vacant positions in their cybersecurity departments.

Three out of four expect attacks

The report also asks questions about past threats and future concerns. 76 percent of Swedish organizations expect to be exposed to a cyberattack that is severe enough to cause disruption in the next 12-24 months. 46 percent were exposed to cyberattacks that were severe enough to cause disruption in operations in 2024.

How cybersecurity is assessed

The report also measures organizations' cyber defense capabilities based on five criteria – the level of identity control, network resilience, device reliability, how cloud services are managed, and the level of knowledge. around AI as a threat, and the application of AI as a defense tool – and gives the business a rating on a four-point scale.

Sweden's results in European comparison

IN Sweden hosts a large majority of companies, 80 percent, in one of the two lowest grade categories – 13 percent in the lowest – and 20 percent in the two highest. This is a small improvement compared to 2024, but it places Sweden in the middle of the European countries included in the survey.

Bright spots in the statistics

A positive detail that stands out is that Sweden, at 6 percent, has a slightly larger proportion of respondents in the highest category than other European countries.

"The result shows that we have the potential to be a leader in cyber preparedness..." – Henrik Bergqvist

Statistics in selection

• Grade levels for Sweden: Highest 6%, second highest 14%, second lowest 67%, lowest 13%.
• 84 percent were affected by AI-related cyber incidents in 2024.
• Only 35 percent are confident that their employees understand AI threats.
• 76 percent expect a serious attack within 12–24 months.
• 93 percent plan to increase cybersecurity investments, but only 33 percent spend over $101.3T of their IT budget on security.
• 78 percent consider the lack of cybersecurity expertise to be a problem.
• 83 percent have employees who regularly use unprotected devices.
• 60 percent have 10 or more vacant cybersecurity positions.