What Will Shape Cybersecurity in 2026: AI Speed, Expanding Attack Surfaces, and Specialized Red Teams

The cybersecurity landscape is entering a year defined by acceleration. AI adoption is moving faster than governance models can keep up. Adversaries are using generative tooling to scale attacks. And connected devices, from industrial systems to life-critical medical equipment, are blurring the line between digital compromise and real-world consequences.

Security has long operated as an integrated partner across the business, but 2026 will raise the stakes. The challenge will be matching the accelerating speed of AI adoption, attacker innovation, and connected-system risk. Our predictions reveal how macro forces will cascade downward to reshape executive decisions, defensive models, testing disciplines, and specialized domains.

Pen Testing Isn’t Dying, It’s Multiplying.

Every year, someone calls time of death on pen testing. They’ve been wrong for twenty years, and they’ll still be wrong in 2026. Hey, at least they're consistent. As the attack surface grows and adversaries move faster, testing is needed more often, not less. Proactive testing will be delivered both continuous and point in time to help people understand their security posture. Just like your Apple Watch doesn’t replace your annual checkup, new tech won’t replace expert testing. It’ll just make it smarter and more available.

• Vinnie Liu, CEO & Co-Founder

For CISOs, AI Is Now an Irreversible Data Risk Decision

For CISOs, AI Is Now an Irreversible Data Risk Decision In 2026, CISOs will face a shift from experimenting with AI to operating in a world where adoption is no longer optional. Businesses will pursue AI for efficiency, capability, and competitive pressure, often faster than security teams can evaluate the risks. CISOs won’t be the arbiters of which AI initiatives move forward, but they will be accountable for how safely they do. The real challenge will be mitigating against a growing layer of shadow AI, trying to monitor user usage, evaluating AI adoption against unclear cost models, and analyzing increasingly complex data-sharing across vendors and models. The CISO’s role will center on enabling the business while mitigating risks at a pace that matches AI’s acceleration, guiding organizations through decisions that may prove irreversible.

• Christie Terrill, CISO

Medical Devices Will Drive a Surge in Specialized Hardware Testing

As the line between the physical and digital worlds disappears, connected hardware, especially critical devices in sectors like healthcare, is introducing unprecedented physical-world risk. For example, the updated FDA requirements taking effect in 2026, includes new quality-system expectations for design controls, risk management, and cybersecurity. With this, medical-device manufacturers will face stronger scrutiny of how their products are engineered and secured. These shifts will force a dramatic increase in specialized hardware and product testing, moving beyond simple network assessments. This deeper security focus is essential for embedded systems, radio technology, and industrial components, where even a minor flaw can have catastrophic safety or physical consequences. Companies will be compelled to invest in expertise capable of managing liability and risk across their entire fleet of connected devices, making comprehensive hardware security a non-negotiable requirement.

• Kelly Albrink, VP of Delivery

AI Will Drive the Rise of Specialized Red Teams

As AI reshapes both enterprise environments and attacker capabilities, Red Teams will be forced to evolve in kind. AI-driven systems are now woven into everyday business operations, creating new and often poorly understood attack paths. At the same time, adversaries are already using generative models to map environments faster, craft sharper social engineering pretexts, and produce deepfakes of executives and trusted stakeholders. In 2026, this shift will accelerate the move toward highly specialized Red Teams, i.e., dedicated groups focused on OT, AI systems, business processes, and other niche attack surfaces. Organizations will recognize that generic testing can’t keep pace with AI-enabled threats, and tailored Red Teams will become essential to uncovering the risks hiding in these rapidly expanding domains.

• Trevin Edgeworth, Practice Director, Red Team

AI Weaponization Will Force a New Era of Test Co-pilots for Defense

We’re entering an AI vs. AI arms race. Attackers are already using generative models to automate vulnerability discovery and scale their operations. That’s not theory. It’s happening now. Defensive teams that don’t adapt will get buried in volume and speed. The right answer isn’t to replace people with machines. It’s to pair them. AI can crunch through the repetitive groundwork, but humans still have to decide what’s real, what’s exploitable, and what actually matters. Think of it as a test co-pilot: automation handles the heavy lifting, and the tester focuses on creative, high-impact work. The future of security testing will depend on who can use AI more effectively, and human direction will remain the difference between running scans and actually breaking systems.

• Dan Petro, Senior Security Engineer

2026 Will Demand Speed, Depth, and Adaptability

2026 won’t reward hesitation. It will reward clarity, prioritization, and a willingness to rethink long-standing assumptions about how security teams operate. Leaders should prepare for faster decision cycles, more specialized testing demands, and an environment where AI-driven systems need continuous scrutiny. The path forward starts with understanding your highest-impact risks and investing in the expertise required to uncover and validate them.

If you’re preparing your team for this next chapter or evaluating how your testing strategy needs to adapt, we’re always here to compare notes, share what we’re seeing, and help you build a plan that meets the moment.