As organizations prepare for 2026, Tenable’s leadership has outlined critical trends that may reshape the cybersecurity landscape. Among these predictions, experts suggest that artificial intelligence (AI) will significantly enhance the speed and volume of traditional cyber attacks, machine identities will emerge as the primary cloud risk, and there will be a shift toward proactive measures in cloud security.
According to Tenable Chief Product Officer Eric Doerr, the application of AI will not introduce new attack vectors but will rather amplify existing methods. “AI is not a magic wand; it supercharges traditional attack methods,” Doerr stated, emphasizing that attackers will leverage AI to drive down the costs of launching attacks while increasing their frequency. This reality underscores the importance of basic cybersecurity hygiene and proactive defense strategies to counteract high-volume threats.
The evolving nature of cyber threats is compelling Chief Security Officer Robert Huber to advocate for a cultural shift in security operations. Automatic remediation, previously deemed too risky, is now viewed as a necessity to keep pace with expanding attack surfaces. “For years, teams have been hesitant to automatically remediate, but I believe that to keep pace with the threat and expansion of the attack surface, teams will start to defy that long-held belief that automatic is forbidden,” Huber explained. Organizations must adapt to automate not just detection but also the resolution of security issues.
As the industry moves into 2026, there is a growing consensus that the reliance on runtime detection as a primary security measure may be waning. Liat Hayun, Tenable Senior Vice President of Product Management and Research, indicated that many cloud breaches originate well before the runtime phase. “Runtime-only tools miss most attack paths because identity abuse and misconfigurations occur long before anything reaches runtime,” she noted. This shift towards a prevention-first approach aims to bolster defenses through comprehensive risk identification and mitigation strategies.
However, the increasing speed of AI-driven attacks presents a new challenge. Doerr warns that the rapid acceleration of these threats can leave security teams scrambling to respond effectively. “AI-fueled attacks start and end before a ticket is even created,” he said. Organizations must prioritize the establishment of proactive security measures, as traditional reactive methods may fall short against the swift pace of modern cyber threats.
The role of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) is also evolving as they begin to embrace custom-built AI tools tailored to their organizations’ unique needs. As the novelty of generative AI subsides, there is greater recognition of the practical benefits of agentic AI in security operations. Huber stated, “When implemented and designed with care, custom-made AI tools will transform security operations and alleviate pain points that lead to burnout.” This shift toward in-house development aims to enhance security workflows and mitigate the pressures faced by cybersecurity professionals.
In the realm of cloud security, non-human identities (NHIs) are poised to become the leading vector for breaches. With machine identities outnumbering human users significantly, this burgeoning attack surface raises concerns about permissions governance. Hayun emphasized the urgency for organizations to manage this landscape, stating that “CISOs will be forced to pivot massive spending toward permissions governance and large-scale cleanup as machine-identity sprawl has rendered cloud environments truly unmanageable.” The focus will shift to strengthening identity and access management (IAM) to regain control over these extensive machine identities.
As these forecasts suggest, the landscape of cybersecurity in 2026 will be marked by increased automation, a focus on proactive measures, and a critical need for organizations to adapt to new threats. The convergence of AI and an ever-expanding cloud environment will necessitate a comprehensive reassessment of security strategies, compelling organizations to reinforce their defenses in a rapidly evolving threat landscape. The proactive measures adopted now may very well determine the resilience of organizations against the accelerating wave of cyber attacks fueled by advanced technologies.
See also
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