Security concerns top barrier to AI adoption, report says

The Linux Foundation has published its 2026 State of Tech Talent Report, which found security concerns have become the main obstacle to AI adoption.

Produced with KodeKloud, LF Research and Linux Foundation Education, the study surveyed 400 IT hiring and training leaders and professionals worldwide. It found 48% of organisations now cite security concerns as the top barrier to AI adoption, up from 17% in 2024.

That marks a shift away from earlier concerns about the cost of AI tools toward questions of operational readiness. Security concerns were also the main reason 43% of organisations said they were failing to get value from AI, ahead of cost management challenges at 36%, general skills gaps at 34% and legacy system limitations at 30%.

Skills shortages featured heavily in the findings. Some 57% of organisations face a capacity gap in AI security and risk management, while the same share reported gaps in AI operations and monitoring. Another 54% pointed to shortfalls in cost optimisation, and 45% cited a lack of AI infrastructure expertise.

Cybersecurity staffing also remains under pressure. Some 40% of respondents said they were understaffed in cybersecurity and compliance roles, reinforcing concerns that many companies are trying to deploy AI systems without enough people to secure and oversee them.

Hiring trends

Despite those constraints, AI is increasing demand for technical staff rather than reducing it. Organisations surveyed reported a net hiring effect of 26% for 2025 and projected a further 31% rise for 2026.

Entry-level roles, often seen as most exposed to automation, are also still expected to grow. The report put the net hiring effect for entry-level positions at 8%, two percentage points higher than in the previous year's report.

Some technical disciplines showed stronger momentum than others. Software development recorded a 28% increase from the previous survey, followed by technical management at 22%, IT operations at 17%, and quality assurance and testing at 16%.

These figures challenge the view that AI adoption will necessarily shrink technology workforces in the near term. Instead, they suggest companies are adding staff while struggling to find or build the skills needed to run AI systems safely and efficiently.

Upskilling focus

The findings suggest many employers are responding by training existing staff rather than relying only on recruitment. Some 57% of organisations are upskilling current employees as their main response to talent gaps, compared with 49% that are hiring new technical staff.

Almost all respondents placed high importance on that approach. According to the research, 94% of organisations said upskilling was important, very important or extremely important.

The report also attempted to quantify the relative benefits of training current employees. It found upskilling had a 7.9 times advantage over hiring for business context, a 7.7 times advantage for staff retention, a 7.3 times advantage for team cohesion, a five times advantage on total cost, and a 3.5 times advantage in quality of work.

Clyde Seepersad, senior vice president and general manager of education at the Linux Foundation, commented on the findings.

"If there's one aspect of AI that's been consistent, it's that the popular narrative around the technology continues to miss the point, often misconstruing where real, positive impact is happening," Seepersad said.

"Data from the 2026 State of Tech Talent Report level sets on what's really happening: AI security and operations roadblocks remain, but net hiring is growing and real business value is being found in upskilling current teams. These are strong signals that the perceived doom that is supposed to impact the workforce has yet to come, if it arrives at all."

The report argues that operational maturity has overtaken budget as the central issue in AI adoption. With 97% of organisations committing to AI implementation, the data suggests many businesses are pressing ahead even though large numbers still lack enough expertise in security, monitoring and risk management.

That tension between deployment and readiness is likely to shape hiring and training decisions across the sector. Employers appear to be betting that internal development can close some of the gap faster and at lower cost than a competitive external recruitment market.

Seepersad said the economics of that strategy are becoming harder to ignore.

"The business impact of upskilling and cross-skilling cannot be understated," he said.

"Gallup found that the up front cost of replacing technical professionals is typically 80% of their salary. Coupled with the very real ROI that comes with a team member learning a new skill, I foresee upskilling programs as intrinsically linked to how well teams will thrive once AI hits saturation in the workforce."