Originally published: Reseller News, 11 September 2026
Elastic research found only 14 per cent of New Zealand organisations’ response to AI attacks would be mostly automated.
While New Zealand is ahead of countries like Australia when it comes to adopting AI for cyber security, there remains an alarming disconnect between adoption and outcomes.
This is according to new research from AI search vendor Elastic which found 62 per cent of New Zealand organisations are already using AI for cyber security, ahead of 52 per cent in Australia.
However, only 14 per cent of New Zealand respondents said their organisation’s response to an AI-automated attack would be mostly automated and able to operate at machine speed, with 82 per cent still relying on mixed or manual processes.
The study also revealed dramatic differences between frontline specialists and leaders in their confidence in their organisation’s ability to react at machine-speed.
Among board and C-suite respondents, 24 per cent said they were confident compared to just 3 per cent among frontline specialists.
“This disconnect was probably the most alarming finding in the study for me. Because when there’s a breach inside an organisation, it’s the C-suite that are accountable,” Elastic Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) country manager Jeremy Pell told Reseller News.
“So, it’s incredibly important that they understand that next level of detail to understand how they’re protected [and] where the threats are, so that they can monitor that risk.”
The Elastic Cyber Security Research, conducted by Pureprofile, surveyed over 850 IT and cyber security professionals across Australia and New Zealand with primary, shared or advisory responsibility for their organisation’s information or cyber security decisions. The New Zealand findings were drawn from 249 New Zealand respondents.
