Top Business Risks

It’s probably not a surprise that geopolitical volatility has surged into a list of the top 10 business risks worldwide. But cyber risk remains the number one concern globally, followed by business interruption at number two.

That’s according to Aon’s 2025 Global Risk Management Survey, which has tracked the most pressing risks for business decision-makers for nearly 20 years.

Geopolitical volatility rose 12 places since the last Aon survey in 2023, breaking into the top 10 global risks (at number nine) for the first time in the survey’s history–and is forecast to rise to fifth by 2028, said the survey report, which was based on interviews with nearly 3,000 risk managers, C-suite leaders, and executives in 63 countries.

Aon noted that the depth of business concerns about geopolitical volatility depend on the region and differing exposures to geopolitical flashpoints. However, businesses in all regions predicted that this risk would rise in their future list of business concerns.

“Cyber Attack or Data Breach” remains the number one current and future risk, according to survey respondents, as the rapid adoption of digital platforms and AI technologies has expanded the attack surface for threat actors, the Aon report said.

Respondents identified the top 10 global risks in 2025 as:

1. Cyber attack or data breach
2. Business interruption
3. Economic slowdown or slow recovery
4. Regulatory or legislative changes
5. Increasing competition
6. Commodity price risk or scarcity of materials
7. Supply chain or distribution failure
8. Damage to reputation or brand
9. Geopolitical volatility
10. Cash flow or liquidity risk

Aon’s 2025 survey also provided a forward-looking perspective on the risks business leaders expect to be most critical by 2028. Respondents identified the predicted top 10 future risks in 2028 as:

1. Cyber attack or data breach
2. Economic slowdown or slow recovery
3. Increasing competition
4. Commodity price risk or scarcity of materials
5. Geopolitical volatility
6. Regulatory or legislative changes
7. Business interruption
8. Artificial intelligence
9. Climate change
10. Cash flow or liquidity risk

Aon’s 10th Global Risk Management Survey, a biennial web-based research report, was conducted between April and June 2025 in 11 languages. The research gathered responses from 2,941 decision-makers.

Topics Commercial Lines Business Insurance