(Editor’s note: This is the 41st installment of a monthly column on the growing number of cyberthreats facing businesses of all sizes and what they can do about them. See previous installments here.)
For years, the quarterly board meeting followed a predictable script: The technology or security leader would present a slide deck of red, yellow, and green risk levels. The room would breathe a sigh of relief as long as the dashboard stayed green.
In 2026, that game will no longer be enough. If your strategy is still anchored solely in prevention rather than resilience, you aren't just behind the curve; you’re ripe for a major disruption. We’ve entered the era of agentic artificial intelligence and quantum readiness. Today, prepared leaders aren't those who hope to never be breached; they are the ones who have built organizations capable of taking a hit and staying in the fight.
The stakes are astonishing. Global cybercrime losses are projected to hit $11.9 trillion in 2025. The boardroom must start focusing on several seismic shifts.
The last two years were defined by AI, with large language models boosting our productivity. But now threat actors flipped the script. We are seeing the deployment of agentic AI attacks, autonomous systems that make independent decisions to navigate your network and execute multi-stage attacks without human intervention. The latest World Economic Forum Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 reveals a startling trend. Cyber-enabled fraud has overtaken ransomware as the primary concern for CEOs. These AI agents blend in with your ecosystem rather than "break in.” They exploit the vetted and unvetted tools your employees use. Boards and executives must establish AI governance. And shine a light on existing data sets, tools and systems and set clear guardrails for how your data is allowed to interact with public and private models.
Historically, businesses have viewed their firewall as a moat, but that strategy has been dead for a while. It has been replaced by identity. Attackers have realized that cracking a complex password and multifactor authentication can be hard, but manipulating a user’s session or an identity agent is easier. Nation-state actors are increasingly using valid credentials to log in rather than break in, moving through cloud environments with the stealth of a legitimate employee or administrator. Not only must you secure your employees’ identities, but we must focus on securing non-human identities as well. Your company likely manages more machine and AI identities than human ones. You must also prioritize supply chain integrity. You are only as secure as your least-secure vendor. If you aren't governing all of these identities that lurk behind the scenes, you have a gaping hole in security.
For years, quantum computing was a “someday” problem. In 2026, we’ve hit the tipping point.
While we haven't reached the total "cryptographic apocalypse" yet, we are facing the frightening reality of a technique called “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later.” Adversaries are siphoning off encrypted data with the intent of decrypting it the moment quantum capabilities allow for it. But statistics show that only 3% of organizations have fully implemented quantum-resistant measures. Most organizations don’t know where their sensitive data is hidden. Start with a comprehensive audit of your data and how it’s protected. From there, you can build a plan to transition to post-quantum cryptography. Begin moving toward standards such as those published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology for quantum-resistant algorithms.
Balancing AI-driven attacks, identity sprawl and the quantum decryption threat isn’t just a technical headache; it’s the ultimate test of the trust you’ve spent decades building with your customers.
The job of company leaders in 2026 is to move from a passive budget-approver to a hands-on culture-shaper, ensuring teams are actually hardening the business and making it resilient.
Next month: Proactive security before building an AI-enabled enterprise.
Jason Albuquerque is the chief operating officer of Pawtucket-based Envision Technology Advisors LLC. You can reach him at www.envisionsuccess.net.
