CalypsoAI's Insider AI Threat Report finds 52% of U.S. employees are willing to use AI to make their job easier, even if it means violating company policy

PR Newswire
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at 3:18pm UTC

CalypsoAI's Insider AI Threat Report finds 52% of U.S. employees are willing to use AI to make their job easier, even if it means violating company policy

PR Newswire

  • 45% of employees trust AI more than their coworkers
  • 34% of the U.S. workforce would quit their jobs if their employer banned AI 
  • 42% of security professionals knowingly use AI against company policy

NEW YORK and DUBLIN, Aug. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- CalypsoAI, leading AI security provider, today released its Insider AI Threat Report. Based on a nationally representative survey of over 1,000 U.S. office workers, the report exposes the growing use and misuse of AI within workplaces, as employees at all levels disregard company policies and shift their trust from humans to tools.

The data reveals a notable shift across the U.S. workforce: 45% of employees trust AI more than their coworkers, and 38% would rather an AI manager than a person. Over a third (34%) say they would quit if their employer banned AI. 

In total, 87% of workers noted their employer has an AI policy, highlighting the growing use of enterprise AI. Yet, more than half of the U.S. workforce (52%) are willing to break policy if AI makes their job easier and 25% have utilized AI without checking if it is allowed.

Across the workforce, 28% have admitted to using AI to access sensitive data, while 28% also reveal they've submitted proprietary company information so AI could complete a task.

At the C-suite level, half (50%) of executives say they'd prefer AI managers over a human, although 34% aren't entirely sure they can tell the difference between an AI agent and a real employee. Over a third of business leaders (38%) admit they don't know what an AI agent is – the highest of any role. Almost the same proportion (35%) of C-suite executives said they have submitted proprietary company information so AI could complete a task for them. 

The entry-level workforce is among the most vulnerable, with 37% of entry-level professionals admitting they wouldn't feel guilty for violating AI policy. For many, regulations aren't even part of the decision - 21% of entry-level workers say the rules are unclear, so they just do what works. Meanwhile, one-third (33%) of entry-level workers say they don't know what an AI agent is. 

The report also reveals significant risks in highly regulated industries: 

  • In the finance industry, 60% admit to violating AI rules, and a third say they've used AI to access restricted data. 
  • In the security industry, 42% of workers knowingly use AI against policy, and 58% say they trust AI more than colleagues.
  • In the healthcare industry, only 55% of workers follow their organization's AI policy, and 27% would rather report to AI than a human supervisor. 

"These numbers should be a wake-up call," said Donnchadh Casey, CEO of CalypsoAI. "We're seeing executives racing to implement AI without fully understanding the risks, frontline employees using it unsupervised, and even trusted security professionals breaking their own rules. We know inappropriate use of AI can be catastrophic for enterprises, and this isn't a future threat – it's already happening inside organizations today."

CalypsoAI's Insider AI Threat Report makes one thing clear: companies need to expand their definition of AI security to go beyond systems and technology to cover people, behaviors, and the breakdown of trust.

To download the full report or learn more, visit https://calypsoai.com/content-download-pages/the-insider-ai-threat-report/ 

About CalypsoAI  

CalypsoAI provides the only full-lifecycle platform to secure AI models and applications at the inference layer, deploying Agentic Warfare™ to protect organizations from evolving adversaries. Trusted by global enterprises including Palantir and SGK, CalypsoAI's industry-leading team of experts is doing the hard miles to ensure security keeps pace with AI innovation. 

CalypsoAI was founded in 2018 and has secured over $40 million in venture funding from investors including Paladin Capital Group, Lockheed Martin Ventures and Hakluyt Capital. CalypsoAI was a Top-Two Finalist in the 2025 RSAC Innovation Sandbox contest and is named on Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in AI for 2025. Learn more at calypsoai.com and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE CalypsoAI