One third of Australian organisations cite data loss via Gen AI as a concern, and 44% admit they do not have adequate oversight of GenAI use. 

SYDNEY, Australia – November 13, 2025 – Proofpoint, Inc., a leading cybersecurity and compliance company, today released its second annual Data Security Landscape report, revealing that Australian organisations continue to face widespread data loss as they struggle to protect sensitive information amid explosive data growth, AI adoption, and the emergence of AI agents in the workplace.  

The report, based on insights from 1,000 security professionals across 10 countries, including Australia, combined with Proofpoint platform data, highlights the rapid adoption of AI-driven productivity tools and autonomous agents that handle sensitive data is compounding risk for Australian enterprises. Many lack the visibility and controls to govern this emerging “agentic workspace,” where humans and AI systems now work side by side. Meanwhile, surging data volumes are putting even greater strain on already stretched security teams. 

Many lack the visibility and controls to govern this emerging “agentic workspace,” where humans and AI systems now work side by side. 44% of Australian organisations cite that they lack sufficient visibility and controls over GenAI tools, but surging data volumes are still putting even greater strain on already stretched security teams. 

“We’ve entered a new era of data security where insider threats, relentless data growth, and AI-driven change are testing the limits of traditional defences,” said Ryan Kalember, chief strategy officer, Proofpoint. “Fragmented tools and limited visibility leave organisations exposed. The future of data protection depends on unified, AI-powered solutions that understand content and context, adapt in real time, and secure information across both human and agent activity.” 

Key Australian findings include: 

• People continue to drive most data loss incidents in Australia: Nearly six in ten (57%) organisations attribute their most significant data loss events to careless employees or third-party contractors, while 51% cite compromised users and 40% point to malicious insiders. 
• Proofpoint telemetry underscores an imbalance: Just 1% of users are responsible for 76% of data loss events, emphasising the importance of behaviour-aware, adaptive security strategies. Data loss frequency also remains alarmingly high: respondents in Australia reported an average of 11 incidents per year, with some organisations experiencing multiple incidents each month. These incidents can take weeks to resolve, leaving sensitive information exposed and security teams overburdened. 
• Data growth and sprawl exacerbate the challenge: Enterprise data volumes are soaring, stretching visibility and control to the limit. Over a third (36%) of organisations in Australia saw their data grow 30% or more over the past year. Among global enterprises with over 10,000 employees, 41% manage more than a petabyte of data. This unchecked expansion carries serious implications: almost half (48%) cite cloud and SaaS data sprawl as a top challenge, and 44% say redundant or obsolete data poses significant risk in Australia. Proofpoint platform data reinforces this, showing that 27% of cloud storage is abandoned—unused data that inflates costs and widens the attack surface. 
• The rise of the agentic workspace and new data risks: As organisations rapidly deploy AI across enterprise workflows, it is emerging as a new class of insider risk rivalling human error. Over one-third (34%) of organisations in Australia cite data loss via public or enterprise GenAI tools as a top concern, while 41% worry about sensitive data being used in AI training. AI agents—often operating as highly privileged superusers—introduce further risk, with 44% of Australian organisations flagging unsupervised data access by agents as a critical threat. Oversight gaps amplify these risks: 44% of Australian organisations lack sufficient visibility and controls over GenAI tools. 
• Security teams are under strain amid fragmented toolsets: Fragmented security architectures continue to hinder visibility, response and remediation efforts. 15% of Australian organisations report that resolving a data loss incident can take between one and four weeks. With almost three in four (72%) relying on six or more data security vendors, the resulting tool sprawl increases complexity and drains already overextended security teams. 
• A call for unified, AI-driven data security programs: Security leaders are increasingly looking to holistic data security and insider risk solutions to reduce security risk and simplify operations. More than three in five (62%) organisations in Australia have already deployed AI-enhanced data security capabilities to classify data. 42% see the greatest benefit of a unified data security solution as enabling the safe and productive use of AI, while more than half (53%) believe it will reduce data loss risk. 

To download ​the 2025 Data Security Landscape​ report, please visit: 

https://www.proofpoint.com/us/resources/threat-reports/data-security-landscape-report  

Methodology: 
The 2025 Data Security Landscape Report combines insights from a global survey conducted by CyberEdge Group with data from Proofpoint’s human-centric security platform. The survey gathered responses from 1,000 security professionals across 10 countries and more than 15 industries, examining the frequency, causes, and impact of data loss incidents, as well as emerging risks tied to GenAI, insider threats, and AI agents. 

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About Proofpoint, Inc. 

Proofpoint, Inc. is a global leader in human- and agent-centric cybersecurity, securing how people, data and AI agents connect across email, cloud and collaboration tools. Proofpoint is a trusted partner to over 80 of the Fortune 100, over 10,000 large enterprises, and millions of smaller organizations in stopping threats, preventing data loss, and building resilience across people and AI workflows. Proofpoint’s collaboration and data security platform helps organizations of all sizes protect and empower their people while embracing AI securely and confidently. Learn more at www.proofpoint.com. 

  
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