According to a recent survey by the World Economic Forum, the cybersecurity landscape is expected to undergo substantial changes by 2026, driven by evolving threats and geopolitical tensions. Nearly 94% of executives surveyed believe that artificial intelligence will be the main force behind these transformations, with a significant increase in organizations evaluating the security of AI tools, from 37% in 2025 to 64% in the coming year.
Concerns regarding AI-related vulnerabilities have escalated, with 87% of respondents identifying these as the fastest-growing cyber threats. Geopolitical factors are increasingly influencing cyber risk strategies, with 64% of organizations incorporating political motivations into their cybersecurity measures. Notably, 91% of large organizations have modified their cybersecurity strategies in light of geopolitical uncertainties.
Trust in national cyber preparedness has declined, as 31% of participants express low confidence in their countries' abilities to handle significant cyber incidents, a rise from 26% the previous year. There are marked regional disparities; while 84%% of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa feel secure, only 13%% in Latin America and the Caribbean share this sentiment. Moreover, 73%% of those surveyed reported experiences with cyber-enabled fraud in 2025, prompting CEOs to prioritize this issue over traditional threats like ransomware.