Cybersecurity in 2025 was defined by scale and sophistication—major breaches, ransomware evolution, and real-world exploitation of vulnerabilities. Year-in-review reporting highlights how threat groups, zero-days, and operational disruption continued to escalate.
The trends that carry into 2026
- More aggressive ransomware economics
- Supply-chain vulnerabilities as a recurring entry point
- Credential theft and identity as the core battleground
- Faster weaponization of new vulnerabilities
What security leaders should prioritize
- Identity hardening: MFA-resistant phishing defenses, passkeys where possible
- Zero Trust principles (verify explicitly, least privilege)
- Vendor risk management with real enforcement
- Incident response readiness (tabletops + backup validation)
Bottom line
2026 security programs should be built for inevitability: assume incidents happen and optimize for rapid detection, containment, and recovery.