Expert predictions for 2026 reveal how AI will transform cybersecurity, governance, collaboration, and the future of human-centered innovation.
Dr. Srinavas Mukkamala, CEO, Securin
“As we move into 2026, the global cybersecurity environment will enter its most complex phase yet. The defining challenge will be decoding adversarial AI intent and adversarial AI capabilities. For the first time, defenders will face adversaries in truly symmetric warfare, with adversaries who possess comparable automation, intelligence, and scale. While AI continues to advance defensive capabilities, the equally urgent priority will be securing AI itself.
Identity security will remain the dominant attack vector. The rise of autonomous agent identities will create a familiar pattern of exploitation—an echo of earlier credential-based compromises, only magnified by automation. Swarms of AI agents will operate continuously across digital ecosystems, performing both defensive and malicious functions. This proliferation will complicate forensics, incident response, and attribution, particularly when determining the underlying intent behind an action or breach.
Cyber insurance will reach a critical inflection point. The industry struggles to define standards for assessing and ensuring AI-driven systems, as accountability, intent, and causality will become increasingly opaque. At the same time, governments worldwide will accelerate efforts to regulate AI deployment. If approached thoughtfully, these frameworks can enhance trust and stability without stifling innovation.
Quantum computing remains the next major disruptor. Once operationalized, it will dismantle traditional cryptographic models and reset the security baseline for every organization.
By 2026 and beyond, we will not only be defending against cyber threats but engaging in AI-enabled conflicts that extend into the stratosphere—where digital, cognitive, and geopolitical domains converge.”
Tom Stockmeyer, Managing Director, Government and Critical Infrastructure, Cyware
“In 2026, collective defense strategies will shift from traditional information sharing to fully automated, AI-enabled collaboration. Building on the progress of ISACs and the anticipated rollout of CISA’s Threat Intel Exchange Services (TIES), government agencies, particularly at the federal level, will increasingly adopt tools that allow for immediate, AI-driven action against threats.
This shift will be driven by the necessity of defending against a growing speed and sophistication of AI-powered attacks, with a focus on raising the bar for both the speed and consistency of defensive actions. By integrating AI into both analysis and daily operations, defenders will finally be able to turn shared intelligence into immediate action. This transition will connect agencies and teams in ways that were previously out of reach, building a stronger, more resilient public-sector cyber ecosystem. It will also help relieve the strain on human analysts by improving consistency and response speed while strengthening the foundation of collective defense.”
Ronen Slavin, CTO and Co-founder, Cycode
“AI adoption is accelerating, but governance and security are dangerously behind. More than half (52%) of organizations still lack centralized governance for AI adoption. That means decisions are being made in silos, with decentralized approvals creating inconsistencies, duplication, and blind spots. It’s an echo of weaknesses that once enabled large-scale supply chain breaches.
The issue is visibility. Without a unified framework, most teams can’t answer basic questions: Where is AI being used? Who approved it? What data is the AI using? Those unknowns are where real risks hide. When oversight lags behind innovation, security becomes an afterthought instead of a foundation.
Looking ahead, the organizations that treat AI configuration as part of their supply chain will avoid tomorrow’s AI-borne breaches and innovate with confidence, not chaos.”
Jay Bavisi, Group President, EC-Council
“The headline for 2026 will not be about AI taking over. It will be about how people rise to meet it. As automation accelerates, the winning edge will not come from writing the smartest code or training the biggest model. It will come from something far more human: creative problem-solving. That is especially true for ethical hackers who understand not just how systems work, but how they break and how to keep them honest.
Ethical hacking has quietly become one of the most dynamic, self-guided career paths in cybersecurity. More professionals are earning substantial income through bug bounty programs, which paid over $81 million in the past year alone. That is the highest on record and a 13% jump from the year before. What used to be a side hustle is becoming a full-fledged profession with real staying power.
But the shift goes deeper than economics. We are seeing global communities of independent researchers, many without traditional degrees, building their craft the old-fashioned way through grit, curiosity and shared learning. They are shaping security standards from the bottom up and proving that talent, not pedigree, is what keeps systems safe.
This all takes on new urgency as AI systems become more powerful and more tightly woven into daily life. Responsible AI is not just a corporate talking point; it is a security mandate. We need people who can challenge AI systems, stress-test them, expose their blind spots and make sure they serve the public good. In that sense, the future of cybersecurity does not hinge on keeping up with AI. It hinges on keeping people at the center. The real challenge of 2026 is ensuring that the humans behind the tools remain ethical, informed and empowered.”
Amir Kazemi, Director of Product Marketing at Cycode
“AI is writing code in 2025, but who’s securing it? We’re seeing that while most organizations are using AI, many still lack visibility into how it’s being applied. Our research shows 97% of organizations are using or piloting AI coding assistants, yet 81% of security leaders admit that they don’t have a clear view of where AI-generated code lives. This gap is not just about control, but also highlights how deeply AI has become embedded in the development process. Growing attack surfaces could be hidden.
In 2026, we will see how CISOs and product security leaders are responding to the changing threat landscape of application security – now with the seismic impact of AI and inherent risks in parallel. AI has become faster than it has become manageable, and it’s clear that risks can’t be dealt in siloes. The way forward is convergence. The organizations that weather storms safely will be those that strengthen code security posture by unifying visibility, context, and control from code to runtime, giving security teams the resources they need to move with the speed of AI. Convergence is the foundation of resilience for the next
Mudit Sinha, AI Lead, Lineaje
“AI has completely shifted the baseline. With better tooling, teams expect new graduates to produce more on tighter timelines. Where new hires once spent months on familiarization, they must now deliver expert-level results within weeks.
This shift demands a new focus. Technical skills are now the floor; critical thought, clear communication, and professional curiosity are the ceiling.
To thrive, graduates must pivot their mindset. Don’t just learn from the tools; learn how to effectively partner with them. Your initiative, combined with ambitious projects and genuine engagement within the industry, is the differentiator AI can never replicate.”
Dr. Srinavas Mukkamala, CEO, Securin
Dr. Srinivas Mukkamala is one of the world’s preeminent authorities on cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence. He now serves as CEO of Securin, Board of Regents for New Mexico Tech, Independent Board Member of El Paso Electric, State of New Mexico Governor’s Advisor on AI and Cyber Security, Advisor Cowbell Cyber, Advisor Security Scorecard, and among many other advisory roles. He is generous with his insights, having written and contributed to countless (120+) peer reviewed publications (with 6,000+ citations and counting), and collaborated with the U.S. Department of Defense to address high-stakes cybersecurity challenges (CACTUS: Computational Analysis of Cyber Terrorism against the US). Dr. Mukkamala holds a Ph.D. and a Master of Science in Computer Science from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, one of the nation’s top technical institutions. He holds multiple patents on Application Security and a patent on Computational Intelligent Agents for Intrusion Detection.
Tom Stockmeyer, Managing Director, Government and Critical Infrastructure, Cyware
Tom Stockmeyer is a cybersecurity leader known for advancing threat intelligence sharing across SLTT, ISACs, CISA, and other critical infrastructure sectors like Healthcare, Maritime and Aviation. He also champions community leadership through roles with TechBridge, Christ the King School, and the National Technology Security Coalition. Before his career in cybersecurity, Tom served in the United States Marine Corps, where he honed his leadership and problem-solving skills.
Ronen Slavin, CTO and Co-founder, Cycode
Ronen Slavin is a co-founder and CTO of Cycode, a source code control, detection, and response platform. Prior to their current role, Ronen held various positions in cybersecurity and software development, including being the head of research at FileLock Inc. and a software team lead at the Israel Defense Forces. Ronen has a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from Bar-Ilan University and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Israel Jobs.
Jay Bavisi, Group President, EC-Council
Jay Bavisi is the Founder and President of EC- Council Group, a global leader in information security education, training, and certification. Jay led the efforts in establishing EC-Council’s partnership with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), an arm of the United Nations, via the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT) to develop sustainable knowledge and capabilities in information security awareness amongst government agencies in 194 member countries. Named as the Cyber Security Professional of the Year during the CSM-ACE conference, he also served as a Board member of the Department of Homeland Security/National Security Agency’s Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education (CISSE), reputed as one of the largest information security gathering of academics, government, and industry professionals in the United States.
Amir Kazemi, Director of Product Marketing at Cycode
Amir Kazemi is the Director of Product Marketing at Cycode. Amir has an extensive background in cybersecurity and tech marketing and specializes in implementing cutting-edge AI solutions to strengthen software security and foster collaboration between development and security teams. He currently drives the evolution of Cycode’s AI-Native Application Security platform.
Mudit Sinha, AI Lead, Lineaje
Mudit Sinha is an AI Lead at Lineaje, the full life-cycle software supply chain security company. He specializes in large language models (LLMs), data science, and software engineering, with proven expertise in driving AI initiatives from concept to deployment. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
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