A growing number of workers are feeling stressed due to IT security risks, with 91% reporting that these concerns contribute to their stress levels—up by seven percentage points from last year. The issue is not just about the risks themselves, but also about how difficult it is for many employees to manage security tools. Three in four workers say their data recovery tools are too complex to use without specialized security knowledge, leaving many regular employees struggling to handle security incidents on their own. While many people tend to think of IT security as a concern for IT departments or company leaders, the report shows that it is increasingly affecting everyday workers. Nine in 10 employees believe that AI tools have improved their productivity, but seven in 10 also say that the rise of AI-powered cyber threats is a major source of stress. Despite this, fewer than one in four (24%) believe their organization is well-prepared to deal with these evolving threats. Cyberattacks are a top concern, with half of workers (50%) citing them as a leading cause of stress at work, alongside high workloads and understaffing. Other significant stressors include gaps in backup and recovery systems (41%) and pressure to maintain system uptime (44%). Many workers feel unprepared, as 74% say recovery tools are too hard to use without security expertise, and 19% report feeling hopeless or overwhelmed during or after a security incident. The impact of this stress is being felt in the workplace, with 78% of workers saying it has negatively affected their job performance. Nearly 39% have even considered quitting due to the stress. According to David Bennett, CEO of the company that conducted the report, both technology and the people responsible for managing it are crucial to an organization’s resilience. He emphasized that protecting and recovering data is not just a technical task but a vital part of business operations.