Cyber Threat Literacy, AI Disruption Top Risks to an Organization’s People

According to thousands of human resources and risk professionals surveyed by Marsh, inadequate cyber threat literacy ranks as the number one risk to people.

It makes sense, since human error continues to be a top cause of cyber losses. Phishing and social engineering need humans to make a mistake or be fooled into providing log-in details hackers use to launch ransomware and data breaches.

Marsh said results of the research underscore that cyber resilience “depends as much on human behavior as it does on technology.”

The broker’s 2026 People Risks report also highlights the adoption of artificial intelligence—or “mindest barriers”—as a top people risk. Those surveyed indicated a concern that organization are rushing to invest in and adopt AI without training employees.

“AI will only deliver value when organizations rethink how work is done and how people are supported,” said Ravin Jesuthasan, global leader for transformation services at Mercer, now under the Marsh brand. “Treating AI as a simple add-on to existing work processes creates real risk and inefficiency.

“The organizations pulling ahead are those redesigning work, upskilling their workforce, addressing AI anxiety and pairing human judgment with machine capability,” Jesuthasan added.

Labor shortages and inadequate leadership were also identified as high people risks. In fact, an inadequate leader can result in mental health deterioration and unsafe working conditions, which in turn affects productivity and the company’s reputation. The research concluded that employees are placing more value on empathy, communication, and honesty while executives emphasize risk awareness, strategic execution, and accountability in leaders.

“This misalignment on what constitutes good leadership threatens to erode cultures, employees’ sense of satisfaction, and organizational performance,” Marsh said.

Topics InsurTech Data Driven Artificial Intelligence Cyber Tech