⚡ Quick Summary
The Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 is the World Economic Forum’s fifth annual flagship assessment of how cyber risk is evolving at the intersection of technology, geopolitics and economics. Built on survey data from more than 800 leaders across 92 countries, it paints a picture of a cyber landscape defined by acceleration: faster attacks, faster adoption of AI, and faster propagation of risk through supply chains and ecosystems. AI emerges as the dominant force reshaping cybersecurity, simultaneously strengthening defence capabilities and enabling more scalable, automated and convincing attacks. At the same time, geopolitical volatility and digital sovereignty concerns are redefining how organizations and states think about resilience, cooperation and trust. The report clearly positions cybersecurity as a strategic and economic issue rather than a purely technical one, emphasizing resilience, governance and collaboration as the decisive factors separating organizations that can absorb shocks from those that cannot.
🧩 What’s Covered
The report is structured around three major forces reshaping cybersecurity in 2026. First, it explores how AI is accelerating the cyber arms race. On the defensive side, organizations are rapidly adopting AI for phishing detection, intrusion response, user-behaviour analytics and automation of security operations. On the offensive side, threat actors are using generative and agentic AI to scale social engineering, automate exploitation and lower the barrier to sophisticated attacks. A key theme is the widening gap between AI adoption and AI governance, with many organizations still lacking continuous security assessments, human oversight and clear accountability for AI systems.
Second, the report examines geopolitics as a defining feature of cyber risk. Nation-state activity, hybrid threats and attacks on critical infrastructure are no longer edge cases but central planning assumptions. Organizations increasingly adjust their cybersecurity strategies in response to geopolitical volatility by investing in threat intelligence, engaging with governments and reassessing vendors and operating regions. The report also highlights declining confidence in national preparedness for major cyber incidents, alongside growing attention to cyber sovereignty and regional control over digital infrastructure.
Third, the report analyses the evolving cybercrime landscape, with a strong focus on cyber-enabled fraud. Fraud and phishing now rank as the top concern for CEOs, reflecting direct financial and reputational impact, while CISOs remain focused on ransomware and supply chain disruption. The document details how cybercrime has professionalized through crime-as-a-service models, how AI amplifies fraud and impersonation at scale, and how international law enforcement cooperation is responding through coordinated takedowns and new global frameworks.
Across all sections, cyber resilience is treated as the core outcome. The report introduces concrete indicators that distinguish highly resilient organizations: board-level engagement, structured AI security reviews, supply-chain risk integration, ecosystem-wide incident simulations and sustained investment in skills. It also dedicates substantial attention to cyber inequity, showing how disparities in skills, resources and AI access create systemic risk across regions, sectors and supply chains.
💡 Why it matters?
This report matters because it reframes cybersecurity as a shared strategic and economic responsibility rather than a siloed technical function. It shows that AI governance, supply-chain security and geopolitical awareness are now inseparable from core business resilience. For leaders navigating AI adoption under regulatory pressure, the Outlook provides evidence that resilience is built through governance, people and collaboration, not tools alone. It also offers a reality check: organizations are increasingly confident, yet still highly exposed, and the cost of failure now extends far beyond individual enterprises to entire economies and societies.
❓ What’s Missing
While the report is rich in data and strategic insight, it remains high-level in terms of operational guidance. It does not deeply explore how organizations should align emerging AI governance obligations, such as those under the EU AI Act, with cybersecurity practices in concrete terms. Sector-specific playbooks and more granular examples of implementation outside large, well-resourced organizations would strengthen its practical utility. Additionally, while agentic AI is flagged as a turning point, the governance and liability implications of autonomous cyber actions are only briefly sketched.
👥 Best For
Board members, CEOs and CISOs seeking a strategic view of cyber risk in 2026; policymakers and regulators working on cyber resilience, AI governance and critical infrastructure protection; and senior risk, compliance and governance professionals who need to connect cybersecurity with economic value, geopolitical risk and organizational resilience.
📄 Source Details
World Economic Forum, Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, Insight Report, January 2026, developed in collaboration with Accenture.
📝 Thanks to
World Economic Forum Centre for Cybersecurity and Accenture, as well as the global community of CISOs, CEOs, policymakers and researchers whose survey responses and expert insights underpin this report.
