Five Cyber Predictions For 2026 Security Com

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Dec 27, 2025, 6:21 PM

five cyber predictions for 2026 security com

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 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.

As we’re heading into 2026, we at Dataminr see the cyber landscape reshaped by new motives, bolder adversaries, and evolving technologies. It will require organizations to make more than just incremental adjustments to security strategies. We foresee fundamental shifts in how adversaries operate, the targets they choose, and the way organizations must prepare to defend themselves. Here are our eight predictions for the cybersecurity challenges that will define 2026. We expect to see an escalation in attacks aimed at society’s most vital systems. Infrastructure like telecommunications, rail networks, and water treatment facilities will face both opportunistic and more targeted and destructive threats.

Threat actors, either overestimating their own capabilities or misunderstanding the tools they wield, will cause collateral damage far beyond their initial targets. This will leave security teams scrambling to contain potentially cascading failures. If these attacks are politically motivated, a cyber operation could easily spill over into a real-world physical conflict. The era of system-locking ransomware as a primary cybercriminal attack method is waning. By 2026, we predict a decisive shift toward pure data exfiltration. Attackers are increasingly finding that encrypting entire networks is inefficient and often triggers robust security measures.

It is far simpler and more efficient to breach a network, steal valuable data, and hold it hostage with the threat of public release. This strategy circumvents many traditional ransomware defenses and hits organizations where it hurts most: their reputation, customer trust, and bottom line. A perfect storm is brewing, created by organizational complacency and mass layoffs in the security workforce. Many companies that once prided themselves on robust cybersecurity programs are now cutting experienced personnel and placing a misplaced faith in early-stage AI security tools to fill the void. This is creating a dangerous security vacuum. While AI is a highly valuable tool, it cannot replace human intuition and expertise.

This growing over-reliance on automation will weaken security postures, creating an “adversary free-for-all” where attackers can exploit new vulnerabilities with greater ease and frequency. We predict that in 2026, state-sponsored actors affiliated with China will become one of the foremost security threats to both public and private sector entities in the U.S. and its allied nations. We have already witnessed a significant surge in operations from these groups, and their continued success will only make them bolder. By Adam Metcalfe-Pearce (additional contributions by David Warburton, Ken Arora, Darien Kindlund, Malcolm Heath & Keiron Shepherd) In what is becoming a bit of a tradition at F5 Labs, we once again dust off our crystal ball and wave our collective hands wildly above it as we dive into our cybersecurity...

The pace of technological change and advancement continues to accelerate as the potential of AI is realized, the benefits of which are being utilized both for good and bad. Not to be overly dramatic, but the real-world implications on the cybersecurity landscape of these advancements are staggering and thus reflected in our predictions for next year. Cybersecurity professionals will have a whole new vector to consider and will need to be prepared to defend at a scale never before seen. With that out of the way, we can lighten the mood and take a look at how we did in our 2025 predictions. Keeping up with our past performance, we’ve done quite well again. Okay we might have missed mind-controlled tech wearables, health-monitoring toilets and neuromorphic brain hacking, but otherwise our record remains strong.

Our 2024 predictions scored an impressive 80% success rate, and yes, we were marking our own homework, but nevertheless a truly impressive feat in a dynamic year of emerging tech and a diverse set... 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. 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. Cybersecurity enters a new era in 2026. Criminals abandon encryption for exposure, AI becomes both attacker and defender, regulations raise the bar for security, open-source ecosystems fight back with automation, VPNs give way to zero trust, and AI fluency becomes mandatory. Explore the WatchGuard Threat Lab’s six predictions for the year ahead. In 2026, crypto-ransomware will effectively go extinct, as threat actors abandon encryption and focus on data theft and extortion.

Organizations have significantly improved their data backup and restoration capabilities, meaning they’re more likely to recover from a traditional crypto-ransomware attack without having to pay the extortion demands. Instead, cybercriminals simply steal data, threaten to leak it, and even report victims to regulators or insurance companies to increase pressure. Encryption no longer pays off; the real leverage will now come from exposure. If the surge of attacks against open-source package repositories like NPM and PyPI has taught security teams anything, it’s that open source is under siege. It’s a losing battle, and traditional security controls, such as tighter authentication and shorter token lifetimes, can’t keep up. In 2026, open-source package repositories will adopt automated, AI-driven defenses to fight back against a growing wave of supply chain attacks.

Five Cyber Predictions For 2026 Security Com

People Also Search

What If We Told You The Biggest Known Vulnerability Of

The Wave Of Attacks Impacted Numerous Well Known Companies. These

Credentials Are No Longer Sufficient. And Security Can No Longer

1. Identity Will Fully Replace The Network As The Primary

While AI Adoption Is Growing Rapidly, Enterprises Are Increasingly Exposed