Cybersecurity trends expected to define 2026 are being shaped by clear, well-documented patterns observed throughout 2025. Rather than a year dominated by entirely new threat techniques, 2025 showed how effective familiar methods remain when applied at scale and combined with everyday digital behaviour. Stolen credentials, exposed online systems, ransomware-driven extortion, and social engineering continued to account for a large share of incidents reported by security researchers, regulators, and incident response teams.
At the same time, the way people interact with technology widened the number of paths attackers could exploit. Online accounts, cloud services, messaging platforms, browser extensions, and artificial intelligence tools became deeply embedded in daily life. Each additional service increased the amount of data being shared and the number of access points that could be abused. Many attacks began in places that felt routine, such as a reused password, a third-party login, or a link that appeared legitimate.
Speed also became a defining feature of modern attacks. Once access was gained, attackers often moved quickly and quietly, using legitimate tools rather than obvious malware. This reduced the time available to detect suspicious activity and increased the likelihood that data theft or extortion would occur before a response was possible. Social engineering expanded beyond email into phone calls, text messages, and interactive conversations designed to sound credible rather than threatening.
New risks also emerged from tools that many people now use without much thought. Browser extensions and artificial intelligence chat services handled growing volumes of personal and professional information, sometimes with limited transparency around how that data was collected or shared. Research published in 2025 showed how data entered into everyday tools could be exposed outside traditional expectations.
Together, these developments provide the context for cybersecurity trends anticipated in 2026. Rather than signalling a dramatic shift in threats, they show how existing risks are spreading into more aspects of digital life. The following six trends outline how these patterns are expected to shape cybersecurity in the year ahead, supported by examples and data reported in 2025.
1. Identity-based attacks will remain the most common entry point
One of the clearest signals from 2025 is that attacks targeting digital identities are expected to remain dominant in 2026. Large-scale breach analysis published by Verizon showed that credential abuse accounted for roughly 22% of known initial access vectors in confirmed breaches. Phishing and exploitation followed closely, but identity misuse remained the most consistent factor.
Microsoft’s security reporting reinforced this picture by highlighting the scale of password spray attacks. According to Microsoft, 97% of identity attacks it observed relied on password spray techniques, where attackers test commonly used passwords across many accounts. Microsoft also reported that 85% of usernames targeted in these attacks appeared in known credential leaks, showing how reused passwords continue to undermine security.
These findings point to a 2026 trend where attackers continue to prioritise access to accounts rather than exploiting software flaws directly. Once an account is compromised, attackers can often move through services without triggering alarms, especially when activity looks similar to normal user behaviour. For the public, this reinforces the importance of unique passwords, password managers, and multifactor authentication as primary defences against common attacks.
2. Exploitation of exposed systems will continue to grow
Another trend shaping 2026 is the continued exploitation of internet-facing systems. Verizon’s 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report found that exploitation of vulnerabilities accounted for about 20% of initial access vectors and increased by more than 30% compared with the previous year. A significant portion of these attacks targeted edge devices such as firewalls, VPNs, and remote access gateways.
Verizon also reported that edge devices and VPNs accounted for 22% of vulnerability exploitation cases, up from just 3% in the prior year’s report. Median remediation time for these vulnerabilities was 32 days, leaving extended windows for attackers to act.
Mandiant’s M Trends 2025 report supported this pattern, stating that exploitation was the most frequently observed initial infection vector for the fifth year in a row, with 33% of intrusions beginning this way when the initial vector was known.
These figures suggest that in 2026, attackers are likely to continue focusing on widely deployed systems that sit at the edge of networks and the internet. Delays in patching, incomplete asset visibility, and complex update processes make these systems attractive targets, with consequences that can affect large numbers of users at once.
3. Ransomware will remain widespread but will shift in pressure tactics
Ransomware remained one of the most visible cybersecurity threats in 2025 and is expected to continue shaping 2026. Verizon reported ransomware present in 44% of breaches it reviewed, up from 32% the year before. At the same time, the median ransom payment dropped to $115,000, and 64% of victims reported that they did not pay.
The data also showed a disparity by organisation size, with ransomware present in 88% of breaches affecting small and medium-sized entities compared with 39% for larger ones. This indicates that attackers continue to adjust their targeting and pressure strategies depending on perceived ability to recover.
Microsoft’s incident response data added further context, reporting that data theft occurred in 37% of incidents it handled and that extortion tactics were present in 33%.
For 2026, this suggests ransomware groups are likely to rely more heavily on data theft and extortion rather than encryption alone. Even when victims refuse to pay, stolen data can still be sold or leaked. This trend affects individuals as well as organisations, as personal data increasingly becomes part of extortion-driven attacks.
4. Third-party access and supply chain exposure will expand
Third-party access emerged as a major driver of breaches in 2025 and is expected to remain so in 2026. Verizon reported that 30% of breaches involved a third party, doubling from 15% the previous year. These incidents often involved compromised credentials, misconfigured integrations, or exposed secrets in shared repositories.
One example highlighted in the report involved leaked credentials in public code repositories. Verizon found a median of 94 days to remediate exposed secrets discovered on GitHub, leaving ample time for misuse.
These findings show that attacks increasingly begin outside the primary target, using trust relationships to gain access. In 2026, this trend is expected to extend beyond software supply chains into service providers, contractors, and online platforms that hold access on behalf of users. For the general public, this increases the likelihood that personal data may be exposed even when individuals follow good security practices themselves.
5. Malware-free attacks and social engineering will accelerate
Another defining trend shaping 2026 is the rise of malware-free attacks combined with more convincing social engineering. CrowdStrike’s 2025 Global Threat Report stated that 79% of detections were malware-free, meaning attackers relied on legitimate tools and credentials instead of malicious software. The report also recorded a fastest eCrime breakout time of 51 seconds and a 442% increase in vishing activity between the first and second half of 2024.
Mandiant also documented an increase in voice-based social engineering, including phone calls designed to trick help desks or individuals into resetting credentials or approving access.
These techniques reduce reliance on malicious code and make attacks harder to distinguish from normal activity. In 2026, this trend is expected to continue as attackers exploit trust, urgency, and routine processes rather than technical vulnerabilities alone.
6. Everyday tools may become major data exposure points
A newer but significant trend shaping 2026 is the risk created by everyday digital tools. Popular browser extensions marketed as VPNs or privacy tools have already been found to be intercepting and selling users’ AI chat conversations. Some affected extensions had millions of users.
Additional reporting linked similar behaviour to browser extensions that claimed to enhance privacy while collecting sensitive input data, including prompts and responses entered into AI chat services.
These findings show how data can be exposed through tools that users trust and adopt for convenience. As artificial intelligence tools and browser extensions become more common in daily life, 2026 is expected to bring increased scrutiny of how data flows through client-side software and free services.
Outlook for 2026
The cybersecurity trends expected to define 2026 reflect a continuation rather than a disruption. Identity abuse, exposed systems, ransomware, third-party access, social engineering, and data exposure through everyday tools are all extensions of patterns already visible in 2025. What has changed is their reach and speed.
As digital life becomes increasingly interconnected, cybersecurity issues are affecting the general public, not just technical specialists. Personal data, online accounts, and everyday tools are now central to how attacks succeed. Understanding these six trends helps explain why cybersecurity discussions in 2026 are likely to focus on reducing common weaknesses, improving transparency, and recognising that familiar risks can have widespread consequences when applied at scale.