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Businesses should prepare for five connected cybersecurity trends in 2026: AI-enabled attacks and AI system compromise, identity and access risks, ransomware that demands stronger recovery planning, software supply-chain and cloud dependencies, and the visibility challenges of multi-cloud operations. These are an editorial synthesis of current findings—not a universal ranking. The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) address different aspects of the threat landscape, so their findings should not be treated as interchangeable.
1. AI is both an attack enabler and an asset to protect
AI creates two distinct security concerns: attackers may use AI to support their operations, and businesses must secure the AI systems they deploy. The CSA’s August 13, 2026 announcement about its 2026 Top Threats to Cloud Computing Survey Report identifies both AI-enhanced attacks and AI system compromise. It also says identity, AI, software supply chains, and interconnected cloud ecosystems are displacing traditional infrastructure as top concerns. This is the CSA’s summary of a survey, not a universal ranking of threats.
ODNI’s 2026 Annual Threat Assessment says AI is likely to accelerate cyber threats. It cites an August 2025 AI-tool-assisted data-extortion operation affecting organizations in several sectors. That example indicates a possible use of AI; it does not show that all attackers use AI or that AI alone caused the compromise.
What to do
- Include the AI tools and systems your business uses in its technology and security inventory. Consider both organization-approved services and AI features embedded in other products.
- Review who can access those systems and the information they can reach. Give access according to job needs, and revisit it when roles or systems change.
- Make sure employees know how to report suspicious activity and unexpected requests, including those involving AI tools.
2. Identity and access controls matter across cloud services
As business systems spread across cloud environments, identity becomes a key control point. CSA identifies identity as one of the issues displacing traditional infrastructure concerns. NIST’s Challenges to Multi-Cloud Security (IR 8613) also identifies identity and access management as one of five areas with especially acute structural gaps in multi-cloud architectures.
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What to do
- Inventory user accounts and service identities—accounts used by applications or services—and identify who owns each one across providers.
- Check where multi-factor authentication (MFA) is enabled and address uncovered access paths. A FIDO2 hardware security key is one possible MFA method; confirm that your identity provider supports it before buying a key.
- Review permissions across providers, focusing on whether each account has more access than its role requires and whether former or inactive accounts remain.
CISA’s Executive Order 14028 explainer describes MFA and encryption as federal security measures. That policy context is not proof that any particular product will secure a private business; choose controls that fit your systems and risks.
3. Ransomware readiness must include recovery
Preventing ransomware is only part of preparation: businesses also need to assess readiness and plan how to recover. ODNI’s 2026 Annual Threat Assessment says, “Financially or ideologically motivated nonstate actors are becoming bolder, with ransomware groups shifting to faster, high-volume attacks that are harder to identify and mitigate.” This is ODNI’s assessment of national threats, not a prediction that every business will be attacked.
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Use NIST’s ransomware profile to find gaps
On June 11, 2026, NIST released the final Ransomware Risk Management: A Cybersecurity Framework 2.0 Community Profile. NIST describes it as a set of practical actions organizations can use to manage ransomware risk, assess readiness, and identify priority improvements. Use it to structure a gap assessment and choose next steps; it is a risk-management resource, not a guarantee against incidents.
Make readiness practical
- Assess ransomware readiness against the NIST profile and record the improvements that matter most for your organization.
- Include recovery planning in the assessment, not only preventive controls. Decide what must be restored and who is responsible for recovery decisions.
- Give employees a clear way to report suspected incidents. CISA’s small and medium business resources include employee-awareness and ransomware materials.
4. Supply chains and cloud connections create dependencies to manage
CSA’s 2026 cloud-threat announcement highlights software supply chains and interconnected cloud ecosystems alongside identity and AI. The practical implication is that your security responsibilities may extend beyond systems your organization directly operates: vendors, integrations, and connections between cloud services can all matter. CSA’s announcement does not quantify an increase in business incidents, so it should not be read as evidence of a measured rise.
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Map the relationships that affect security
- Identify the vendors and integrations that connect to important business systems.
- Review what information those services can access and who manages their permissions.
- Clarify which party is responsible for security actions and incident communication when a connected service is involved.
CISA’s Executive Order 14028 explainer also discusses federal supply-chain policy. It is useful policy context, but it does not establish that one vendor-review practice or product will secure a private organization.
5. Multi-cloud operations make visibility and governance harder
Using multiple cloud providers can make it harder to see and manage controls consistently. NIST IR 8613 identifies 23 consolidated challenge areas and names five especially acute areas: identity and access management; telemetry and logging; configuration and change management; data protection; and compliance and authorization. NIST published this analysis as an initial public draft on August 21, 2026; its public comment period closed October 5, 2026. It is not a final standard.
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Check the five control areas across providers
- Identity and access management: establish who owns accounts and service identities and review permissions across providers.
- Telemetry and logging: check whether you can see relevant activity across your cloud services and who reviews it.
- Configuration and change management: determine how configuration changes are tracked and who is responsible for them.
- Data protection: clarify how data is protected and which responsibilities belong to your organization versus a provider.
- Compliance and authorization: identify the requirements that apply to each environment and who is accountable for meeting them.
For a business using SaaS or multiple cloud providers, these checks can reveal gaps between what one provider shows and what the organization needs to govern across its environment. NIST presents IR 8613 as an analysis of challenges unique to or amplified by multi-cloud architectures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Where should a business start?
There is no source-backed universal order for these five trends. Start with the systems, data, and exposures that matter to your organization, then use guidance to identify practical gaps. CISA’s small and medium business resources include employee-awareness materials, ransomware resources, and secure-by-design guidance. NIST’s final ransomware profile can help assess readiness, while its multi-cloud analysis is a draft resource for organizations managing those environments.
- List the business systems, cloud services, AI tools, vendors, and integrations your organization relies on.
- Assess account ownership, MFA coverage, permissions, logging visibility, and responsibility for configuration and data protection.
- Use the NIST ransomware profile to assess readiness and prioritize recovery work; use CISA’s small-business resources to support employee awareness and technology decisions.
- Choose improvements based on your systems, exposure, staffing, and resources. A checklist is a starting point, not a complete security program.
ODNI reported that North Korea probably stole $2 billion in cryptocurrency during 2025 and said the funds help finance the regime, including strategic-weapons development. This is a geopolitical cybercrime figure, not an estimate of business losses.
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