Cybersecurity trends 2026: challenges and protection strategy

If there is one thing we have learned over years of protecting critical infrastructures, it is that cybersecurity never stops. And 2026 will be no exception. In fact, it will probably be one of the most complex years we will face.

Traditional perimeter protection methods are not enough. The attack surface has expanded exponentially with the mass adoption of cloud, SaaS, IoT, and OT. Moreover, European regulations are raising the bar on what it means to be "protected." It is no longer sufficient to simply have a firewall and an up-to-date antivirus.

According to the annual Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), the threat landscape is being reconfigured at speeds that exceed the adaptive capacities of many organizations.

Thus, we present the five trends that every CISO and security manager must keep on their radar for 2026.

1. Identity Becomes the New Security Perimeter

80% of Breaches Start with Stolen Credentials

Let’s put aside the traditional concept of a perimeter. The reality is that in 2026 your security perimeter is every identity that accesses your systems. And we are not just talking about employees, but also human identities, machine identities, service identities, and especially third parties.

According to data from the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2025, about 80% of advanced intrusions involve the exploitation of credentials and privileges. This makes identity management the cornerstone of any cybersecurity strategy.

Zero Trust: Not Just a Buzzword

The Zero Trust architecture is an immediate necessity. The NIST has published detailed guidelines on implementing Zero Trust Architecture (NIST SP 800-207), and organizations across all sectors are accelerating its adoption.

What does this mean in practice?

1. Robust multi-factor authentication on all critical access points, not just for VPNs.
2. Identity-based segmentation that limits lateral movement for attackers.
3. Continuous behavior monitoring to detect anomalies before they escalate.
4. Privileged Access Management (PAM) with complete logging and auditing.

The Challenge of Third-Party Identities

This is where many organizations fall short. Vendors, contractors, and partners have access to critical systems, yet they rarely undergo the same level of scrutiny as internal employees.

The concept of Just-In-Time (JIT) provisioning is gaining traction: granting the right access to the right person, at the right time, and for only as long as is strictly necessary. Organizations with mature third-party risk management programs are increasingly adopting JIT provisioning to minimize attack surfaces.

Our recommendation: An integrated approach that combines Privileged Access Management (PAM), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR), and specific hardening for third-party accounts. Without this triad, you are leaving your front door wide open.

2. Corporate Artificial Intelligence: A New Frontier of Attack

Enterprise adoption of generative AI and autonomous agents is accelerating. Spending on enterprise AI solutions continues to grow exponentially. But with this mass adoption come completely new attack vectors.

We have seen firsthand how security teams are struggling to comprehend these threats. And it is understandable: many of these techniques did not even exist two years ago.

The Three Main Threats to Corporate AI

1. Data Poisoning

Attackers can corrupt the training data of your AI models, leading to incorrect or biased business decisions. Imagine a fraud detection system that has been trained to ignore certain attack patterns. The impact could be devastating.

2. Model Stealing

Your AI model represents valuable intellectual property. Attackers can extract knowledge from your model through carefully crafted queries, effectively stealing years of R&D investment. Various industry reports have documented cases of model exfiltration and theft of model weights—an emerging threat that compromises critical intellectual property.

3. Prompt Injection

This is the most accessible and therefore the most common. Attackers can manipulate corporate chatbots, virtual assistants, or automation systems via malicious prompts that alter their intended behavior. In some documented cases, this has led to the exposure of sensitive data or the execution of unauthorized actions.

AI Security by Design: A Solid and Effective Approach

The response is not to avoid AI (which would mean losing competitiveness), but to adopt it securely from the design stage. This includes:

1. Specific security assessments for AI systems
2. Active monitoring of agents and their interactions
3. Control over the complete lifecycle of models
4. Segregation of sensitive data in training environments
5. Red teaming tailored to AI systems

Organizations that implement these controls will gain a significant competitive advantage, not only in security but also in the reliability of their AI systems.

3. Crypto-Agility and the Quantum Threat

Harvest Now, Decrypt Later

Data encrypted today with current algorithms could be decrypted in the future through quantum computing. And we are not talking about a distant future.

The concept of "harvest now, decrypt later" means that attackers can capture encrypted traffic today, store it, and wait until quantum computing becomes sufficiently accessible to decrypt it. For information with long-term value (intellectual property, trade secrets, medical data), this poses a significant threat.

The Beginning of the Post-Quantum Transition

NIST has published its first post-quantum cryptography (PQC) standards, including algorithms such as CRYSTALS-Kyber for encryption and CRYSTALS-Dilithium for digital signatures. These are not theoretical concepts—they are standards that organizations are already implementing.

For example, Apple has already deployed the PQ3 protocol in iMessage, offering quantum protection to millions of users. Google is experimenting with PQC in Chrome.

The Challenge of Crypto Migration

Migrating to post-quantum cryptography is no trivial matter. Industry studies show that most organizations do not even have a complete inventory of where and how cryptography is used within their infrastructure. This is the first mandatory step.

According to the joint guide from CISA, NSA, and NIST on quantum readiness, organizations lack visibility of quantum-vulnerable cryptography in their deployed products, applications, and services. This comprehensive inventory is the first mandatory step.

The transition process includes:

1. A comprehensive cryptographic inventory: identifying all uses of cryptography in your technology stack.
2. Risk assessment: prioritizing which systems need quantum protection first.
3. Crypto-agile architecture: designing systems that can update algorithms without complete overhauls.
4. Phased migration: implementing PQC in a controlled manner, minimizing operational impacts.
5. Continuous testing: ensuring that the new algorithms do not unacceptably degrade performance.

For sectors such as banking, healthcare, defense, or critical infrastructures, this is a top priority. CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) has published specific guides recommending that organizations with sensitive data commence their PQC transition as soon as possible.

4. Regulated Cyber-Resilience: From Planning to Demonstrable Capabilities

Europe Raises the Stakes with NIS2 and DORA

The era of "good intentions" based cybersecurity is over. European directives NIS2 (Network and Information Security) and DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) are radically transforming organizational obligations.

NIS2, which came into force in October 2024, significantly expands the scope of obligated entities and increases penalties for non-compliance. DORA, applicable from January 2025, imposes strict digital operational resilience requirements on the financial sector.

The Paradigm Shift: Continuous Evidence

Here’s the key point: merely having an incident response plan tucked away is no longer enough. Modern regulations demand regular testing and the ability to demonstrate, at any time, your actual capacity to:

1. Prevent incidents through effective controls.
2. Detect threats in real time.
3. Respond in a coordinated and effective manner.
4. Recover critical operations within defined timeframes.

This requires continuous documented evidence, structured reporting for supervisors, regular audits, and periodic resilience tests.

Compliance Automation: The Path to Scaling

Manual management of regulatory compliance consumes significant resources, and its costs continue to rise year after year. According to studies in the European banking sector, operational compliance costs have increased by more than 60% for retail and corporate banks compared to pre-financial crisis levels. Moreover, 77% of business leaders state that the increasing complexity of compliance has already hindered growth to some extent, if not significantly.

The answer lies in intelligent compliance automation.

Leading organizations are implementing:

1. Integrated risk management systems (IRM).
2. Automation of evidence collection.
3. Real-time dashboards for supervisors.
4. Automated control testing.
5. Documented periodic simulations and exercises.

And what can you do today?

1. Map your specific regulatory obligations (NIS2, DORA, GDPR, etc.).
2. Identify the gaps between current capabilities and requirements.
3. Prioritize critical controls with the greatest impact.
4. Implement automation for reporting and evidence collection.
5. Establish regular testing and improvement cycles.

Supervisory bodies are intensifying inspections and penalties. Fines for NIS2 non-compliance can reach up to 10 million euros or 2% of global annual turnover.

5. People at the Center: Combating Fatigue and Talent Shortages

The latest ISC² 2024 Cybersecurity Workforce Study highlights a global shortage of 4.8 million cybersecurity professionals. And it isn’t just a matter of having too few people—it’s also about the fatigue among those we have. SOC analysts face thousands of alerts daily, with false positive rates often exceeding 50%.

The expansion into cloud, SaaS, IoT, and OT has multiplied monitoring points. More tools, more logs, more alerts. The result? Overwhelmed analysts who may start ignoring alerts or making hasty decisions due to time constraints.

The Solution? Intelligent Automation

At Neverhack, we consistently advocate for and prioritize reducing the "noise" through intelligent automation powered by AI.

How do we do it? Through:

1. SOAR (Security Orchestration, Automation and Response): automating responses to common incidents.
2. Machine Learning for correlation and prioritization: reducing false positives and highlighting real threats.
3. Automated Threat Intelligence: enriching alerts with relevant context.
4. Automated playbooks: standardized responses to known scenarios.

Leading organizations are deploying significant automation within their SOCs to remain competitive and manage the increasing volume of threats.

The Culture: The First Security Control

But technology isn’t everything. A strong security culture and ongoing training remain the first critical control in any cybersecurity strategy.

Well-informed users can:

1. Detect phishing before it reaches your SOC
2. Report incidents promptly
3. Follow security procedures without reluctance
4. Serve as an additional layer of defense

Best practices include:

1. Continuous training tailored to specific roles.
2. Measurable awareness campaigns (beyond mere compliance).
3. Phishing simulations with constructive feedback.
4. Clear metrics to gauge program effectiveness.
5. A reporting culture free of penalties.

ENISA emphasizes that organizations must make significant investments in training and awareness as fundamental components of their cybersecurity strategy. A strategic investment, without a doubt.

2026: The Future of Cybersecurity Is Holistic

2026 will not be an easy year for cybersecurity leaders. The convergence of technological complexity, sophisticated threats, and unprecedented regulatory demands requires a different approach.

The five pillars we have explored are interdependent:

1. A robust identity architecture protects your AI systems.
2. Crypto-agility ensures the long-term confidentiality of critical data.
3. Demonstrable regulatory compliance safeguards your organization legally and reputationally.
4. Effective talent management makes all of the above sustainable.

You cannot address one while ignoring the others. Our cybersecurity approach demands a holistic, strategic, and adaptive vision.

NEVERHACK – Your Cyber Performance Partner

If you feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of these challenges, you are not alone.

In an environment of growing complexity, having a strategic partner who understands your business, your risk profile, and your operational constraints is a strategic necessity.

That’s why, more than just tools, you need security solutions designed specifically for your context, integrating technology, processes, and people in a cohesive manner.

If you want to prepare your organization for the challenges of 2026, do not hesitate to contact us!