Organizations in the Benelux stand out favorably in global trends in cloud-native security. With higher cloud adoption, improved identity management, and greater automation, the region appears relatively mature.
This is evident from new research by Sysdig. In terms of identity security, our region scores significantly better than the rest of the world. While 60 percent of organizations worldwide handle service accounts in a risky manner, that percentage is 44 percent in the Benelux. Even more striking: there are no risky users, while this occurs in 8 percent of cases worldwide.
These figures indicate strict adherence to best practices, such as least-privilege and zero-trust principles. The pressure from GDPR and NIS2 appears to be effective.
In 61 percent of Benelux organizations, users do not have direct access to cloud providers. This suggests using SSO authentication or other centralization solutions. Worldwide, that percentage is only 15 percent. By using central identity control, companies reduce their attack surface and make privilege escalation more difficult.
The Benelux shows remarkable cloud adoption. While approximately 80 percent of organizations worldwide run on cloud infrastructure, that percentage is around 86 percent in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The survey shows that 62 percent use a single cloud provider. Multicloud and hybrid infrastructures are less common than expected, at 9.5 percent and 14.3 percent, respectively.
The Benelux region appears to be leading the way in automating incident response. In the region, 14 percent of organizations automate certain response actions, compared with the global average of 11 percent. This proactive approach helps to respond more quickly to modern cloud-native threats.
Hesitation around GenAI gives way to confidence
At the beginning of 2025, the region appeared to be cautious about generative AI. While 45 percent of organizations worldwide were already using a GenAI solution in December 2024, only 24 percent were doing so in the Benelux. In the first half of 2025, there was a rapid catch-up to 48 percent, close to the global average of 50 percent.
This shift can be explained in part by growing confidence in tooling and increasing demand for secure use cases. The EU AI Act, which came into force in August 2024 and was phased in at the beginning of 2025, is also likely to have provided clarity.