NEW YORK and LAS VEGAS, Aug. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BLACK HAT USA 2025 — A stark disconnect between cybersecurity confidence and the reality of security data is leaving organizations exposed, according to a new report released today. A recent study reveals that while 90% of cybersecurity leaders say their organization is prepared to take immediate action on a vulnerability, only a quarter of them (25%) trust all the data in their own security tools.
This fundamental “Trust Gap” is the central finding of The Trust Factor: How Trusted Data Drives Smarter Vulnerability and Exposure Management, a new research report commissioned by Axonius, the global leader in cyber asset intelligence. The study, which surveyed 500 U.S. director-level and above cybersecurity and IT leaders from companies with over 500 employees, found this data trust deficit (due to dirty data) directly impacts performance. Looking closer at the 1 in 4 leaders who mistrust their security data, they cite inconsistent data (36%), incomplete data (34%), and inaccurate data (33%) as the primary reasons.
“Many organizations mistakenly believe they have a clear picture of their security posture, but that confidence often rests on flawed or what some call ‘dirty data’—information that’s incomplete, inaccurate, or out of date,” said Ryan Knisley, chief product strategist at Axonius. “Effective exposure management depends on reliable, trustworthy data. No amount of automation or AI integration can make up for a broken data foundation. Until that gap is addressed, the risk of a serious breach only grows.”
Industry analysts agree that this data integrity issue is a primary obstacle to …