New research from 1,000+ IT, security, risk, and compliance professionals shows near-universal AI adoption, links reactive risk programs to higher breach rates, and highlights growing momentum for scalable control strategies

BELLEVUE, Wash., Feb. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperproof, the intelligent GRC platform, announced the release of its 2026 IT Risk and Compliance Benchmark Report today. The report is Hyperproof's seventh annual study of how organizations manage risk, compliance, and audit readiness amid accelerating regulation, expanding third-party ecosystems, and rapidly evolving AI capabilities.

Based on responses from over 1,000 IT and GRC professionals, the 2026 report shows a clear shift: AI is no longer experimental in GRC; it's operational. The data also underscores a parallel truth that when risk management remains reactive and fragmented, organizations are more likely to experience damaging outcomes, which can create even more work for already stretched teams.

Highlights from the report include:

• AI is now mainstream across GRC workflows: 97% of respondents report using AI to streamline their work. The report finds the biggest advantage comes when AI is embedded directly into a SaaS platform that can apply intelligence to controls, evidence, and assessments, rather than leveraged as a disconnected tool.
  
  
• Ad-hoc risk management correlates with higher breach rates: 50% of respondents who manage risk ad hoc or only after a negative event happens reported experiencing a breach in 2025, compared to only 27% who use an integrated, automated approach to risk management.
  
  
• Breaches expand workloads in an already-demanding environment: 58% of organizations that experienced a breach anticipate spending more time on IT risk management and compliance in 2026, pointing to how incidents can increase ongoing operational burden beyond immediate response.
  
  
• Common controls frameworks are becoming standard practice: 56% of respondents said they use a common controls framework (CCF) to streamline GRC processes, reinforcing the shift toward scalable, repeatable control strategies.
  
  
• 86% of respondents have a centralized team to manage GRC: Centralizing GRC activities is becoming a best practice. Only 14% of respondents manage GRC via individual teams or business units.

"AI has quickly moved from 'interesting' to 'essential' for GRC teams, but how you deploy it matters," says Alam Ali, Senior Vice President of Product at Hyperproof. "The data suggests the biggest value comes when AI is built into the system of record for your controls, evidence, and assessments, helping teams reduce manual work while improving consistency and readiness."

The 2026 report also provides practical guidance from Hyperproof on how to turn these benchmarks into action, including standardizing control strategies with common controls, establishing repeatable evidence practices, and embedding automation and AI into day-to-day workflows to scale readiness without increasing overhead.

To access the full 2026 IT Risk and Compliance Benchmark Report, visit https://hyperproof.io/it-compliance-benchmarks/

Media Contact:

Jenifer Ho

Senior Vice President of Marketing, Hyperproof

jenifer.ho@hyperproof.io

About Hyperproof

Hyperproof is a modern, AI-powered GRC platform that empowers IT, security, and compliance teams to manage controls at scale, integrate their risk operations, and build trust with customers. With Hyperproof, you can scale compliance across your business, automate many controls and orchestrate the rest, connect controls to risks to protect your business, and unlock new business by automating security questionnaires and trust management. Leading organizations like Reddit, Fortinet, Appian, Outreach, and Thales trust Hyperproof.

To learn more about Hyperproof, visit https://hyperproof.io

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SOURCE Hyperproof