Vanta, an AI-powered trust management platform, has released its Trust Maturity Report, offering a data-driven analysis of how organizations are evolving their security programs within an increasingly complex risk landscape. Drawing on aggregated, anonymized insights from over 11,000 organizations and aligned with the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), the report categorizes companies into four security maturity tiers: Partial, Risk-Informed, Repeatable, and Adaptive.The report indicates a clear correlation between higher maturity tiers and improved risk practices, enhanced resilience, and more effective integration of AI. Key findings include that only 43% of Partial companies have completed a risk assessment, compared to 100% of Adaptive organizations. Budget constraints remain a universal challenge, cited by 67% of Repeatable and 35% of Adaptive companies. Incident preparedness is also a strong indicator of maturity, with 92% of Repeatable companies continuously monitoring threats with alerts, in contrast to 56% of Partial companies having a basic, untested incident response plan, and 12% having no plan at all. Furthermore, 71% of Adaptive companies are adopting AI to enhance speed, scale, and efficiency within their security operations.Jadee Hanson, CISO at Vanta, stated, “Security maturity doesn’t happen by accident—it’s driven by deliberate, strategic investment in risk management, culture and ongoing incremental improvements to people, process, and technology. Our data shows that organizations that embed trust principles in everything they do mature faster, operate more resiliently, and are better prepared for today’s evolving risk landscape.”Strategic risk management forms a foundational element of security maturity. The report highlights that a significant differentiator between Partial and more advanced tiers is the completion of risk assessments; 100% of Risk-Informed businesses have conducted at least one formal risk assessment, driven often by compliance requirements and customer needs. Incident readiness also proved to be a clear indicator, with 92% of advanced-tier organizations (Repeatable & Adaptive) continuously monitoring threats. Specifically, for Repeatable organizations, 100% possess business continuity plans, 85% conduct regular incident response drills, and 78% regularly test their plans.Adaptive companies demonstrate a significantly higher likelihood of adopting and integrating AI into their security operations. With a more comprehensive understanding of their data flows, governance needs, and risk exposure, these organizations leverage AI to reduce rework, streamline decision-making, and align with frameworks such as ISO 42001.The report emphasizes that trust is not merely a byproduct but a driver of mature security programs. As organizations advance, they integrate trust into their company culture, secure leadership alignment, and incorporate risk into top-level decision-making. While security investments for Partial organizations are primarily driven by customer expectations and compliance needs, Adaptive organizations are motivated by responding to customer/vendor demands (95%), reducing security risks (93%), meeting compliance requirements (90%), scaling security operations (75%), differentiating through security maturity (70%), and managing multiple frameworks (35%).Although budget and resource constraints persist across all maturity tiers, mature organizations increasingly face challenges such as implementing automation at scale, achieving cross-team alignment, and keeping pace with evolving threats. The top challenges for each group progressing through the maturity curve include: Partial (Budget and resources: 48%), Risk-informed (Budget and resources: 66%), Repeatable (Budget and resources: 67%; implementing automation or managing frameworks: 27%), and Adaptive (Budget and resources: 35%; implementing automation at scale: 20%; executive buy-in or internal alignment: 15%; keeping up with threats: 15%). These findings underscore that security maturity is an ongoing process demanding strategic investment, cross-functional collaboration, and a foundation of trust.The Vanta Trust Maturity Report was compiled from aggregated, anonymized first-party data, mapped to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). Each company was categorized across four maturity tiers based on criteria such as policy coverage, AI adoption, incident response planning, and risk assessments, providing an objective benchmark for organizations to evaluate and enhance their security programs.The full findings of the Vanta Trust Maturity Report are available for download.Vanta, founded in 2018, is a trust management platform that centralizes security for organizations. Over 11,000 companies globally, including Atlassian, Duolingo, Icelandair, Ramp, and Synthesia, utilize Vanta to build, maintain, and demonstrate their trust in a real-time and transparent manner. The company serves customers in 58 countries with offices in Dublin, London, New York, San Francisco, and Sydney.