AI is rewriting the rules of business and cybercrime. In 2026, attackers automate the exploitation of weakness, making strategic leadership on cybersecurity central to building resilience and trust
Artificial intelligence has moved far beyond being a productivity tool. It now sits inside customer service platforms, financial systems, supply chains and operational workflows. These systems can make decisions, move data and trigger actions with minimal human involvement. The same autonomy that makes them powerful also makes them dangerous if they are compromised.
Security Predictions 2026 research from TrendAI™, a business unit of Trend Micro, shows how AI has become a driving force behind faster, smarter and more complex cyberattacks. Criminals no longer need large teams of skilled hackers. AI agents can scan for vulnerabilities, generate phishing messages, exploit exposed systems and adapt their behaviour in real time. In a hyper-connected world of cloud services, SaaS platforms and third-party integrations, a single weakness can spread across entire ecosystems.
For boards and executive teams across private and public sectors, this changes the nature of risk. Cybersecurity is no longer about protecting IT systems. It is about protecting business continuity, customer trust and organisational credibility.
From tool to threat vector
AI is not just being used by attackers, it is becoming part of the attack surface itself. Automated systems now approve payments, provision cloud resources and manage workflows across multiple platforms. If one of those systems is manipulated, it can perform harmful actions quietly, without triggering traditional alarms.
This is why AI agents must be treated like digital employees. They need identities, clearly defined roles and strict limits on what they can access. A compromised AI assistant with excessive permissions can become the modern equivalent of a privileged insider, able to move laterally across systems, extract data or introduce malicious code at scale.
Traditional defences were not designed for this world. Perimeter security and basic access controls struggle when threats arrive through trusted tools and legitimate workflows.
Four leadership priorities for 2026
The impact of AI on cybersecurity seems overwhelming even as the consequence of failure can prove potentially devastating. This is why cybersecurity has become a board-level issue. It is no longer about preventing every incident, but about ensuring the organisation can withstand and recover from them.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. The industry is building methodologies to deal with this AI storm with TrendAI™’s Security Predictions 2026 pointing to four broad areas where leaders should focus.
First, govern AI agents. Give each system a unique identity, restrict its permissions to what it truly needs and monitor its behaviour continuously.
Second, improve cloud visibility. Track assets, roles and access in real time, and remove excessive privileges that create hidden pathways for attackers.
Third, strengthen recovery. Test restoration frequently and integrate it into business continuity planning so cyber resilience supports operational resilience.
Fourth, prioritise by exposure. Address identity gaps, internet-facing systems and third-party connections before less critical internal assets.
The UK leadership challenge
These issues are especially pressing in the UK public sector, where the drive to modernise meets complex legacy estates and rising cyber risk. Jonathan Lee, director of cyber strategy at TrendAI™, says maturity gaps could undermine the benefits of AI if they are not addressed.
“In 2026, a renewed focus on addressing the UK public sector’s digital maturity should be prioritised to avoid AI rollout inadvertently introducing new cyber risks,” he says. “When AI literacy is inconsistent, data isn’t classified properly and ‘shadow AI’ use begins to creep in, it becomes far too easy for sensitive information to leak into LLMs and SaaS tools without anyone noticing.”
Lee also points to blind spots created by legacy systems, fragmented tools and weak identity hygiene. “When that is combined with over-privileged service accounts, the perfect conditions for insider risk of AI compromise are set,” he says.
His recommendation is disciplined governance grounded in the UK AI Cyber Security Code of Practice. “We need to embed zero trust with phishing-resistant MFA, get a grip on every AI workflow in use and maintain offline, tested backups. With disciplined governance and modern controls, AI can accelerate digital transformation safely and securely.” This model applies just as strongly to the private sector.
A foundation for trust
AI will continue to transform how organisations operate. It will drive efficiency, improve services and unlock new opportunities, but it will also reshape the threat landscape.
The organisations that succeed in 2026 will be those that treat cybersecurity as a foundation for trust and continuity, not a brake on innovation. With disciplined governance and modern controls, UK businesses can innovate boldly and securely in the AI-driven future.
You can read the full report here.
TrendAI™, a business unit of Trend Micro and global AI security leader, makes the world safer for digital information exchange across enterprises, governments, and organisations. Powered by security expertise and innovation, TrendAI™ leverages artificial intelligence to protect more than 500,000 enterprises and millions of individuals across AI, cloud, networks, endpoints, and devices. AI Fearlessly. TrendMicro.com
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