University of Kwazulu-Natal

5 Cybersecurity Predictions For 2026 Security Magazine

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
5 cybersecurity predictions for 2026 security magazine

2026 is already on the horizon, and if you haven’t already been thinking about how cybersecurity will shift next year, now is the time to start. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to hear security leaders reflect on 2025’s cyber trends. Now, five experts share their predictions for 2026 below. The explosive growth in AI usage represents the single greatest operational threat to organizations, putting intellectual property (IP) and customer data at serious risk. While AI adoption is growing rapidly, enterprises are increasingly exposed to risks related to data security, third‑party AI tools, shadow AI usage, and governance issues. When sensitive IP or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is entered into unsanctioned AI systems, the data may be used for model training, stored externally, or exposed in unexpected ways, leading to compliance, IP, and...

Organizations must monitor not only sanctioned AI tools but also the growing ecosystem of “micro‑AI” extensions and plugins that can quietly extract or transmit data. A global KPMG and University of Melbourne survey of 48,340 individuals across 47 countries found that 48% of employees admitted uploading company data into public AI tools, and only 47% received formal AI training,... In 2026, three regulatory shifts will dominate the compliance and security agenda. The EU AI Act’s full release in August will require organizations to classify systems by risk, complete conformity assessments, and maintain documentation that reshapes how AI is deployed. What if we told you the biggest known vulnerability of 2026 isn’t your tech, but your trust?Welcome to the next era of cyber risk in all its genre-bending, chaotic glory. What sets these trends apart is they’re set to converge across the upcoming year.

And in a future that’s sure to test every layer of defense you thought was secure, next year’s threats have gotten personal. Read ahead to learn five emerging trends the Symantec and Carbon Black Threat Hunter team are tracking in 2026. A trend we have seen in multiple attacks this year is attackers gaining access to victim networks not by leveraging zero-day vulnerabilities or using sophisticated software supply chain attacks, but rather by taking advantage... The breach of the Salesforce instances of multiple companies and organizations worldwide by an attack group called Shiny Hunters in mid-2025 was a prime example of this. The wave of attacks impacted numerous well known companies. These attacks were conducted by the Shiny Hunters extortion group, which targeted Salesforce customers with vishing (voice phishing) attacks to compromise credentials or to trick employees into authorizing a malicious OAuth app in order...

The attackers would then steal data and attempt to extract a ransom from the affected company. These attacks echo similar attacks we saw being carried out by the Scattered Spider attack group, which is also known to primarily gain access to victim networks by carrying out sophisticated social engineering attacks. They compromised numerous casinos in Las Vegas in 2023, while in 2025, they deployed the DragonForce ransomware onto the networks of multiple well-known UK retailers. The perimeter is gone. Credentials are no longer sufficient. And security can no longer rely on static controls in a dynamic threat environment.

Cybersecurity has always evolved in response to attacker innovation, but the pace of change over the last few years has been unprecedented—particularly with the emergence of weaponized AI to scale phishing, deepfakes, and voice... As we head toward 2026, several structural shifts are becoming impossible to ignore. Traditional security assumptions are breaking down, threat actors are scaling faster than defenders, and identity—not infrastructure—has become the primary battleground. Here are five predictions that will shape the cybersecurity landscape in 2026: 1. Identity Will Fully Replace the Network as the Primary Attack Surface

Looking Back, Looking Forward The past year was dominated by one theme: scale. Scale in data, in AI adoption, in the speed of attacks, and in the number of systems security teams must protect without additional resources. In 2025, organizations tried to understand how deeply AI systems touch their environments, how much of their data… The past year was dominated by one theme: scale. Scale in data, in AI adoption, in the speed of attacks, and in the number of systems security teams must protect without additional resources. In 2025, organizations tried to understand how deeply AI systems touch their environments, how much of their data is unnecessarily exposed, and where risk hides in third-party software and vendors.

At the same time, attackers quietly shifted to automation, using AI tools to increase impact while reducing manual effort. Supply chain compromises cascaded through dozens of organizations, credential theft became the most common breach vector, ransomware moved almost entirely to extortion models, and generative AI moved from experimental to production, creating new attack... 2026 won’t be a clean break. It will be the year these trends mature, intersect, and force long-term changes in how we secure data, identities, and systems. Here’s how the landscape looks from where I sit. Traditional ransomware (encryption followed by negotiation) continues to decline.

Attackers have learned that stealing data and threatening to publish it is faster, cheaper, and more profitable. More than 80% of ransomware incidents now involve exfiltration, and that number will approach universality in 2026. 2026 is already on the horizon, and if you haven’t already been thinking about how cybersecurity will shift next year, now is the time to start. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to hear security leaders reflect on 2025’s cyber trends. Now, five experts share their predictions for 2026 below. The explosive growth in AI usage represents the single greatest operational threat to organizations, putting intellectual property (IP) and customer data at serious risk.

While AI adoption is growing rapidly, enterprises are increasingly exposed to risks related to data security, third‑party AI tools, shadow AI usage, and governance issues. When sensitive IP or Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is entered into unsanctioned AI systems, the data may be used for model training, stored externally, or exposed in unexpected ways, leading to compliance, IP, and... Organizations must monitor not only sanctioned AI tools but also the growing ecosystem of “micro‑AI” extensions and plugins that can quietly extract or transmit data. A global KPMG and University of Melbourne survey of 48,340 individuals across 47 countries found that 48% of employees admitted uploading company data into public AI tools, and only 47% received formal AI training,... In 2026, three regulatory shifts will dominate the compliance and security agenda. The EU AI Act’s full release in August will require organizations to classify systems by risk, complete conformity assessments, and maintain documentation that reshapes how AI is deployed.

Next year, cybersecurity becomes an AI-driven battleground where trust erodes, deception scales, and the speed of intelligent machines determines who stays secure and who gets left behind. By 2026, cybersecurity enters its most turbulent era: one where machines no longer assist analysts but battle each other at machine speed. The shift has been building for years, but the coming year marks the moment AI moves from being an accelerant and becoming the battlefield itself. Agentic AI will become the standard inside security operations centers (SOCs) in 2026. Detection, investigation, and response workflows, once dependent on human triage, will be increasingly automated. Cybersecurity agents will independently analyze alerts, gather evidence, correlate behaviors, and some cases recommend or initiate containment actions with minimal human involvement.

For defenders, this is the only viable path forward. Human operators simply can’t compete with the volume, velocity, and sophistication of modern attacks. But defenders aren’t the only ones evolving. Attackers are beginning to experiment with agentic systems capable of continuously probing networks, adapting to defensive measures, and executing portions of campaigns with limited human oversight. Adversarial AI systems will increasingly assist in orchestrating full campaigns autonomously: generating deepfake identities, crafting highly personalized phishing, and conducting real-time reconnaissance with machine precision. Security operations will increasingly be defined by an AI-versus-AI contest in which speed, context, and adaptability determine who wins.

As artificial intelligence becomes deeply embedded in enterprise operations and cybercriminal arsenals alike, the Cybersecurity Predictions 2026 landscape reveals an unprecedented convergence of autonomous threats, identity-centric attacks, and accelerated digital transformation risks. Industry experts across leading security firms, government agencies, and research institutions have identified over 100 critical predictions that define the year ahead, a year where AI evolves from a defensive tool to both the... The stakes have never been higher. With ransomware victims projected to increase by 40% compared to 2024, third-party breaches doubling to 30% of all incidents, and AI-driven attacks expected to dominate 50% of the threat landscape, organizations face a fundamental... This comprehensive analysis synthesizes expert forecasts to provide security leaders, practitioners, and decision-makers with actionable intelligence for navigating the most transformative cybersecurity year in modern history. The most significant Cybersecurity Predictions 2026 trend centers on the industrialization of artificial intelligence in cyberattacks.

Threat actors are deploying agentic AI—self-directed systems that autonomously plan, execute, and adapt campaigns without human intervention. Security Magazine highlights five major trends that will redefine cybersecurity in 2026: AI-driven threats, quantum-safe encryption, Zero Trust mandates, supply chain security, and resilience as a business metric. According to experts, artificial intelligence will increasingly be weaponised by threat actors. Expect malware that learns and adapts autonomously, bypassing traditional detection methods. Attackers will use AI to automate phishing campaigns, generate convincing deepfakes, and exploit vulnerabilities faster than human defenders can respond. Defensive strategies must include AI-driven analytics and behaviour-based detection to keep pace.

Quantum computing is expected to challenge current cryptographic standards. Algorithms like RSA and ECC could be rendered obsolete by quantum capabilities, making sensitive data vulnerable. Organisations should begin transitioning to quantum-safe encryption and explore NIST-approved post-quantum cryptographic algorithms to future-proof their security posture. Zero Trust principles—“never trust, always verify”—will move from best practice to regulatory requirement. With hybrid work and cloud adoption accelerating, identity-centric security will dominate compliance frameworks globally. Expect mandates for continuous authentication, micro-segmentation, and least-privilege access across all sectors.

High-profile breaches have exposed the fragility of software supply chains. In 2026, expect stricter vendor risk assessments, mandatory SBOM (Software Bill of Materials) disclosures, and continuous monitoring of third-party components. Regulatory bodies will enforce transparency to reduce systemic risk. Cybersecurity 2026: trust, AI, and compliance collide: In a Security Magazine expert roundup, leaders highlight accelerating shadow AI, converging security and compliance, deepfake defenses, and the rise of biometrics—signaling that enterprises must prove trust... Protegrity’s quantum–AI outlook on verifiable trust: Protegrity’s Arjun Kudinoor explains how quantum technologies like self-verifying random number generators, combined with agentic AI and data-centric protection, will shift security from “promised” to physically proven—helping organizations... In this expert roundup from Security Magazine, five leaders forecast what’s next in 2026—spotlighting shadow AI, the convergence of compliance and security, deepfake-driven disinformation defenses, quantum–AI security advances, and the mainstreaming of biometrics.

Notably, Protegrity’s Arjun Kudinoor argues that the convergence of quantum tech and AI will redefine trust: from “promised” to physically proven through technologies like self-verifying quantum random number generators and agentic AI that adapts... The 2026 agenda blends policy, physics, and pragmatism: organizations must govern how AI is used, verify what data and signals can be trusted, and automate which controls keep pace with machine-speed threats. The common thread is trust that can be demonstrated continuously—across people, processes, and increasingly autonomous systems. Trust moves from promised to proven:As Arjun Kudinoor notes, quantum–AI advances (e.g., self-verifying randomness) and agentic guardrails will anchor security in physics and continuous verification.

People Also Search

2026 Is Already On The Horizon, And If You Haven’t

2026 is already on the horizon, and if you haven’t already been thinking about how cybersecurity will shift next year, now is the time to start. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to hear security leaders reflect on 2025’s cyber trends. Now, five experts share their predictions for 2026 below. The explosive growth in AI usage represents the single greatest operational threat to organizations...

Organizations Must Monitor Not Only Sanctioned AI Tools But Also

Organizations must monitor not only sanctioned AI tools but also the growing ecosystem of “micro‑AI” extensions and plugins that can quietly extract or transmit data. A global KPMG and University of Melbourne survey of 48,340 individuals across 47 countries found that 48% of employees admitted uploading company data into public AI tools, and only 47% received formal AI training,... In 2026, three ...

And In A Future That’s Sure To Test Every Layer

And in a future that’s sure to test every layer of defense you thought was secure, next year’s threats have gotten personal. Read ahead to learn five emerging trends the Symantec and Carbon Black Threat Hunter team are tracking in 2026. A trend we have seen in multiple attacks this year is attackers gaining access to victim networks not by leveraging zero-day vulnerabilities or using sophisticated...

The Attackers Would Then Steal Data And Attempt To Extract

The attackers would then steal data and attempt to extract a ransom from the affected company. These attacks echo similar attacks we saw being carried out by the Scattered Spider attack group, which is also known to primarily gain access to victim networks by carrying out sophisticated social engineering attacks. They compromised numerous casinos in Las Vegas in 2023, while in 2025, they deployed ...

Cybersecurity Has Always Evolved In Response To Attacker Innovation, But

Cybersecurity has always evolved in response to attacker innovation, but the pace of change over the last few years has been unprecedented—particularly with the emergence of weaponized AI to scale phishing, deepfakes, and voice... As we head toward 2026, several structural shifts are becoming impossible to ignore. Traditional security assumptions are breaking down, threat actors are scaling faster...