Welcome back, my aspiring cyberwarriors!
As we enter 2026, cybersecurity will be among the most important issues your organization, and our society, will face. Let’s take moment to review the most important issues we will be facing to help you better prepare.
Rather than leveling off or declining, cyber attacks continue at an unprecedented pace. Recent trends and technological developments can help to inform us as to the nature of attacks in 2026.
Let’s take a look.
AI as Both Weapon, Shield, and Force Multiplier
Artificial intelligence is changing the way all of us work and that applies to your cyber adversaries as well. Hackers are quickly adapting to the new AI environment, leveraging its speed and scale to enhance their attacks. At the same time, organizations are deploying AI to detect threats, predictive modelling, and automated responses. In both cases, Artificial Intelligence (AI) becomes a force-multiplier enabling both sides to do more with less.
In 2026, we will certainly see more AI generated threats and those organizations who refuse to use AI to defend their networks and assets will likely not be here to enjoy 2027.
SCADA/ICS/OT Vulnerabilities
Industrial systems (SCADA/ICS/OT) will continue to be key targets in 2026. These systems have benefited from security through obscurity for decades, but now that the attackers understand how poorly secured these systems are, the attacks will accelerate.
Some of the key issues identified by this industry include:
- 47% SCADA/ICS/OT companies cite gaps in the skillsets and resources necessary to protect their systems.
- 41% identify lack of network segmentation between OT/IIoT and IT environments as key challenges.
Critical infrastructure systems remain particularly vulnerable to sophisticated attacks. Over 200 proprietary protocols not found among the TCP/IP stack makes this field particularly challenging, while being among the most important to national security.
Internet of Things (IoT)
IoT is growing exponentially while the security of these devices is stuck in a crawl. In 2026, these devices will be increasingly used as a vector to compromise devices within the home network (phones, computers, other IoT) and as an element of a larger botnet, used to perpetuate the largest DDoS attacks in history (this is an easy prediction to make as IoT every year is responsible for the largest DDoS attacks in history). IoT increases every person’s attack surface and the greater the attack surface, the greater the probability of compromise.
Unless the IoT industry implements some basic standards of security, in 2026 the world will become a much more dangerous place.
Identity Management
Identity management is crucial in cybersecurity because it controls who has access to your systems and data.Without strong identity management, you’re essentially leaving the keys under the doormat—even the best perimeter security becomes ineffective when you can’t verify and control who’s inside your system. Artificial intelligence (AI) will make identity management even more challenging in 2026 as attackers use;
- Deep fakes and synthetic identities including fake voices, videos, images. This will make such identity management systems as biometrics less reliable.
- Social engineering will be enhanced by enabling the attacker to personalize phishing attacks by replicating the writing style, voice, or social media presence of a trusted colleague.
- As AI-generated content becomes increasingly ubiquitous, it will become harder and harder to distinguish between AI agents and real humans.
2026 may be the year you will need to implement AI to determine if someone is actually a human.
Cloud Security Complexity
Cloud is the top cybersecurity threat organizations feel least prepared to manage. Multi-cloud environments face sophisticated malware, insider threats, mis-configurations, and supply chain vulnerabilities. Organizations are struggling with “tool sprawl”—managing dozens of separate security tools that create blind spots and conflicting configurations.
Quantum Computing Threats
Quantum computing is coming! Probably not in 2026, but on the near horizon the threat looms of quantum computing breaking your encryption. Quantum computers can easily break the most widely used asymmetric cryptography and 2026 should be the year you begin to prepare with quantum-resistant devices and cryptography.
Geopolitical Impact
Wars are raging around the planet and these conflicts will lead to additional geopolitical risk. Some 60% of business and tech leaders rank cyber risk investment in their top three strategic priorities in response to ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. State-sponsored cyberattacks, disrupted supply chains, fractured alliances, and telecom infrastructure vulnerabilities are reshaping threat landscapes and business strategies.
Ransomware Evolution
Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) is making sophisticated attacks more accessible. AI-driven ransomware can instantly detect vulnerabilities with increased focus on vital industries like finance, healthcare, and energy. The average data breach cost has reached $4.4 million in 2025.
Multi-stage ransomware with data theft, harassment, and long‑tail extortion remains the most disruptive form of cybercrime, and we predict record incident volumes projected into 2026.
Cybercrime ecosystems are moving more of their infrastructure and monetization on‑chain (crypto, mixers, DeFi), making take-down and attribution harder and enabling more resilient RaaS affiliate models.
Talent and Skills Shortages
Workforce gaps remain a critical barrier. Knowledge and skills shortages are the top obstacles to implementing AI-enabled cyber defense. Over half of all organizations are turning to AI tools and managed security services to compensate for missing expertise.
Remote Work Security
With hybrid work as the default, securing remote access has become paramount. Cyber criminals are exploiting remote sessions through phishing, credential theft, and AI-powered impersonation attacks, expanding the attack surface of your organization significantly.
Proactive resilience and continuous adaptation are no longer optional but essential for survival in 2026’s threat landscape.
Physical Security
If you attacker is within your perimeter defenses, GAME OVER! An attacker who can enter your facility and sit down to a computer may be one of the least anticipated attacks. This applies to the disgruntled insider as well. You can have the very best perimeter defenses, but if the attacker is inside your walls, that will all be for naught.
In 2026, make certain to secure your physical perimeter and test all your systems against such as attacks as RFID smart card attacks and social engineering.
Summary
We predict that 2026 will be another very challenging year for those of us cybersecurity. It is essential that you understand the coming threats and the methods to the thwart them. Hackers-Arise will address each of these issues in 2026 both in this blog and in our 2026 trainings.
Join us to advance your cybersecurity career!
Source: HackersArise
Source Link: https://hackers-arise.com/what-will-be-key-cybersecurity-issues-in-2026/