Issue No: 39
30th July 2026

83% of UK firms hit by AI security incidents, as agents open a massive blind spot

As enterprises rush to deploy AI agents to handle their workflows, they’ve accidentally built a blind spot for themselves. New data from ExtraHop reveals that AI has created a highly complex attack surface for enterprises to defend. 83% of UK organisations battled AI-driven security incidents, data exposures or "near-misses" in the last 12 months, with traditional security tools failing to keep pace with autonomous, AI traffic. More than half of UK IT and security leaders now point directly to AI agents, agentic infrastructure and Generative AI as their single most significant cybersecurity risk. Only 6% of UK organisations can say with absolute certainty that they did not experience an AI-related security incident or data exposure last year.

With best regards

Mark Simms, Editor
msimms@theengineeringnetwork.co.uk

EDITORS CHOICE

Get ready: here is what you will learn at FoodManufacturing.Live and MachineBuilding.Live this October

Mark your diary. On Wednesday 14th October, FoodManufacturing.Live and MachineBuilding.Live land side by side at the NAEC, Stoneleigh Park, for one jam-packed day of industrial automation insight. The event is free to attend for machine builders,

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Rockwell Automation helps Hadaf Foods drive connected, data‑driven operations

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Machine vision ensures the perfect closure of spaghetti packaging

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CASE STUDIES, NEW PRODUCTS & NEWS

Machinery Regulation from 2027: Security will be a key competitive factor

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EVENTS & COURSES

Machinery Regulation 2027: is your CE marking knowledge ready?

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Book now: CPD-accredited workshops and hands-on IO-Link training confirmed for October

Diary date: NAEC Stoneleigh Park | Wednesday, 14th October 2026, 09:00 - 15:00 | FoodManufacturing.Live and MachineBuilding.Live

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