2026 Will Be Wild: Cybersecurity Predictions
Based on the developments of the past year, CyberStash foresees several critical themes defining cyber threats in 2026. These cybersecurity predictions are intended to help security leaders anticipate where to focus attention and investments in the coming year.
“Back to the Future” Threats — Old Vulnerabilities, New Exploits
The most impactful attacks in 2026 are likely to exploit known vulnerabilities or common software — but in unforeseen ways. Rather than a wave of brand-new zero-days, attackers will maximise ROI by taking well-known flaws (in Windows, Office, VPN appliances, and more) and using AI to discover novel exploit vectors for them.
In other words, breaches may not come from something entirely unheard-of, but from something we thought we understood — retooled into a zero-day-like weapon.
Attackers will increasingly revive old, well-known vulnerabilities — not because the patches disappeared, but because AI can uncover new exploit paths, bypasses, misconfigurations, and chained conditions that re-expose them. We expect at least one major 2026 breach to be traced back to a pre-2020 CVE exploited in a novel, AI-assisted way.
Targeting the Security Stack Itself
Adversaries will increasingly target the security tools and supply chains organisations rely on. This includes everything from cloud single-sign-on platforms and endpoint agents to MSPs and security vendors.
A successful compromise of a widely used security service or a critical update (akin to SolarWinds) could cascade through thousands of customers. With today’s vendor monoculture, attackers will double-down on targeting Microsoft, identity systems, remote access tools, and EDR solutions — either by exploiting software bugs or abusing privileged access.
Attackers may also subvert update mechanisms or source code repositories of popular security products. The motive is simple: why struggle with well-defended endpoints if you can disable or bypass the defences altogether?
Boards and security leaders must be prepared for scenarios where the security tool itself becomes the vector of compromise.
AI vs AI Escalation
2026 will likely see an arms race of AI between attackers and defenders.
Threat actors will deploy more autonomous attack techniques — malware that makes decisions based on environment feedback, spear-phishing campaigns fully run by AI agents, and payloads that adapt in real-time.
Defenders will respond with more AI-driven detection and response capabilities. The clash will intensify: more attacks crafted to fool AI defences, and more AI-powered threat hunting exposing attacks that evade traditional methods.
By the end of 2026, we predict at least one major incident response will credit an AI system for detecting a breach that human analysts missed — and at least one major breach will be attributed to an AI-assisted attack that defeated conventional automated defences. The cat-and-mouse game reaches machine speed.
Industrialising Deepfakes & Digital Manipulation
What was experimental in 2025 becomes routine in 2026. Expect a sharp rise in criminal use of deepfake services — “Deepfake-as-a-Service” offered on the dark web — enabling cybercriminals to deploy convincing voice or video impersonation.
This may lead to high-impact fraud scenarios: deepfaked authorisation for fund transfers, virtual meeting scams targeting executives, and synthetic identity fraud.
Organisations will be challenged to implement stronger verification measures (code words, call-backs, biometric liveness checks). Regulators may also step in with laws restricting deepfake use in fraud and requiring organisations to enforce verification for large transactions.
The Insider-AI Threat Vector
Another emerging risk for 2026 is the combination of malicious insiders and AI tools. An employee with legitimate access might use AI to exfiltrate data more stealthily — querying internal chatbots for sensitive info or using AI agents to hunt for valuable data while blending into normal user activity.
Compromised insider accounts could be leveraged by AI-driven malware for rapid reconnaissance and privilege escalation, drastically shortening dwell time.
We foresee at least one major breach where an insider — knowingly or unknowingly — aided by AI causes significant operational disruption.
Organisations will need stronger internal threat monitoring and strict AI usage policies (e.g., preventing employees from pasting confidential data into external AI services).
Regulatory and Insurance Pressure Mounts
As AI-related attacks rise, regulators and insurers will respond. Cyber insurance policies in 2026 may explicitly question an organisation’s controls against AI-enabled threats — deepfake fraud detection, AI-generated malware detection, and identity verification practices.
Regulators may push for responsible AI use guidelines and minimum security requirements for organisations deploying AI.
While not a threat in itself, these pressures will influence CISO priorities. Organisations that proactively address AI threats will have an easier time navigating insurance and compliance.
A Single Truth for 2026
Each prediction points to one reality: the attack surface is shifting faster than legacy “best practices” can keep up. Security leaders should treat these forecasts as prompts to stress-test their 2026 strategies.
Are you ready for your EDR to fail silently? For your identity provider to be compromised? For a high-risk funds transfer request to originate from a deepfaked voice call?
The future may be abstract, fragmented, and unpredictable — but preparation doesn’t have to be.