IT Leaders’ Top 2026 Fears: AI and Cyber Risk
▼ Summary
– Cybersecurity threats are the top expected disruptor for 2026, with nearly half of surveyed IT leaders ranking them as their primary concern.
– AI-generated attacks are viewed as the most significant specific data threat by 66% of respondents, while ransomware also remains a major risk.
– Strengthening cybersecurity is the leading spending priority, with over half of leaders planning budget increases for data protection and resilience.
– Cloud expansion is reducing data visibility for 60% of organizations, complicating security and compliance efforts.
– A majority (70%) of surveyed leaders support a ban on paying ransoms, believing payment practices influence attacker behavior.
A new global survey reveals that cybersecurity threats are the primary force shaping IT strategy for 2026, with the rapid advancement and regulation of artificial intelligence emerging as a close second major source of disruption. The study, which gathered insights from senior IT and business leaders worldwide, paints a picture of an industry bracing for complex challenges that intertwine technological innovation with escalating risk.
When ranking expected disruptors for the coming years, cybersecurity threats placed first, with nearly half of all respondents selecting security incidents as their foremost concern. The maturity and regulation of AI followed as a significant worry for just over twenty percent of leaders, while issues like workforce shortages and cloud complexity ranked notably lower. The level of concern intensifies when executives assess their own preparedness. A substantial number admitted that cyberattacks remain among the risks they feel least equipped to handle, while challenges linked to AI and automation also scored high, underscoring widespread uncertainty about how quickly AI-powered threats will develop.
Delving into specific data risks, the survey found a particularly sharp focus on novel dangers. Approximately two-thirds of respondents identified AI-generated attacks as the most significant threat to their data integrity. Ransomware continues to command serious attention as well, with about half of the leaders flagging it as a major persistent risk moving toward 2026.
These perceived risks are directly informing investment and strategic priorities. For the upcoming year, strengthening cybersecurity emerged as the most frequently selected initiative, with building data resilience following closely behind. This indicates a powerful drive not just to prevent breaches but to ensure the protection and swift recovery of information during any disruptive event. Reflecting this shift, more than half of those surveyed anticipate moderate to significant budget increases for data protection and resilience programs, channeling resources toward initiatives seen as critical for operational stability and business continuity.
Governance issues are also exerting considerable influence on planning. Data sovereignty and regulatory compliance were rated as important by a large majority of leaders. Many reported that these factors are already actively shaping decisions around cloud architecture and where data is physically stored, especially in regions with dynamic privacy and security laws.
The expansion into cloud and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platforms, however, is creating its own set of complications. A striking sixty percent of respondents acknowledged that their visibility into where data actually resides has deteriorated as IT environments grow more distributed. This erosion of oversight makes securing data and meeting compliance mandates increasingly difficult. Confidence in recovery capabilities remains tentative at best; only about twenty-nine percent of leaders expressed high confidence in their ability to recover data following a sophisticated zero-day exploit, with most admitting only to moderate confidence levels.
The survey also captured strong opinions on the contentious issue of ransomware payments. Seventy percent of respondents stated they support a ban on paying ransoms, with about half of those expressing strong support for such a policy. This growing consensus suggests that IT leaders increasingly believe payment practices directly incentivize attacker behavior and elevate risk across the entire digital ecosystem. The overarching message from the data is clear: organizations must simultaneously fortify their defenses, ensure robust data resilience, and navigate compliance demands, all while managing the double-edged sword of rapid technological innovation.
(Source: HelpNet Security)
