10 AI Risks That Could Devastate 2026

The cybersecurity landscape in 2026 is poised for a dramatic and dangerous transformation, driven by the widespread weaponization of artificial intelligence. Security leaders face an unprecedented challenge as malicious actors integrate AI into every phase of their operations, creating threats that are faster, more adaptive, and far harder to detect. The coming year will demand a fundamental shift in defense strategies, moving from reactive measures to proactive, intelligence-driven resilience.

Experts agree that the malicious use of AI, which began in earnest in 2025, will become the standard operating procedure for threat actors. Security professionals anticipate that adversaries will fully leverage AI to enhance the speed, scope, and effectiveness of their operations, building on the novel use cases already observed. This includes everything from social engineering and information operations to the development of sophisticated, self-adapting malware. A significant concern is the rise of agentic AI systems that can automate steps across the entire attack lifecycle, streamlining and scaling intrusions with minimal human intervention.

One of the most alarming developments is the evolution of AI-enabled malware. This category of malicious software either preys on victims’ use of AI or uses AI itself to conduct attacks. Unlike traditional malware, these tools can dynamically alter their behavior mid-execution to avoid detection. Security researchers have already identified strains like PromptSteal, which uses a large language model to generate commands for finding and stealing sensitive data. The core worry is that this malware is becoming increasingly autonomous and “self-aware,” capable of analyzing its environment to determine if it is being observed in a security sandbox before executing its payload.

Closely related is the threat from agentic AI acting on behalf of attackers. These autonomous systems can execute complex campaigns with little human oversight, a capability demonstrated in a large-scale cyber espionage campaign attributed to a Chinese state-sponsored group. For defenders, a major fear is how these agents could automate lateral movement, the techniques attackers use to move deeper into a network after gaining initial access. Furthermore, the proliferation of “shadow agents,” or AI tools deployed by employees without IT approval, creates invisible pipelines for sensitive data, leading to potential leaks and compliance violations.

Prompt injection attacks represent a new and critical attack surface. This technique manipulates AI systems into bypassing their security protocols to follow an attacker’s hidden commands. As businesses rapidly integrate powerful AI models into daily operations, the conditions are perfect for a significant rise in these low-cost, high-reward attacks. The risk extends to AI-enhanced web browsers, which blend browsing with autonomous actions and could introduce a powerful new attack vector that existing security stacks are ill-equipped to handle.

Threat actors will also use AI to exploit the most consistent vulnerability: people. AI-enabled social engineering is expected to become highly manipulative and scalable, using voice cloning for hyper-realistic vishing attacks and crafting customized phishing messages that bypass traditional security tools. This human-focused approach is compounded by the risk posed by poorly secured application programming interfaces (APIs). AI can now discover and exploit these interfaces automatically, even when they are undocumented, allowing attackers to “live off the cloud” by routing malicious traffic through the APIs of trusted services.

The nature of extortion is also changing. While ransomware remains a multi-billion dollar threat, tactics are shifting. Attackers are increasingly prioritizing silent data theft over disruptive encryption, focusing on maintaining a long-term foothold within networks to exfiltrate sensitive assets undetected. This strategic pivot aims for prolonged exploitation rather than immediate chaos. These attacks are also spreading beyond traditional IT into industrial control and operational technology systems, where they can halt production and disrupt critical supply chains, as seen in attacks on major manufacturers.

The definition of an insider threat is expanding. Beyond rogue employees, organizations must now guard against external actors using physical hardware to bypass endpoint security and state-sponsored operatives deploying deepfake “synthetic employees” to gain long-term access to sensitive systems. Nation-state campaigns will continue to focus on destabilizing Western interests through election interference, cyber espionage, and financially motivated attacks, such as North Korea’s targeting of cryptocurrency organizations.

Underpinning many of these threats is the perennial issue of credential and identity mismanagement. As AI agents that require their own credentials proliferate, the identity layer becomes the new perimeter. Attacks like the widespread Salesforce breaches, which often leveraged stolen OAuth tokens, demonstrate how adversaries can access vast amounts of data without ever needing a user’s password. Protecting these tokens and assertions from theft is becoming a paramount concern.

This evolving threat landscape places immense pressure and accountability on chief information security officers. In 2026, the role of the CISO is evolving into that of a business risk leader, with cyber-resilience becoming a competitive differentiator. With greater budgets will come greater scrutiny; breaches tied to poor decisions or underinvestment may carry serious career consequences. CISOs will need to upskill their teams, leverage managed services to address talent shortages, and adopt a proactive, predictive security posture that anticipates threats before they cause damage. The year ahead will be a pivotal test of whether organizational defenses can adapt at the pace of AI-driven offense.

(Source: ZDNET)