Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: What Houston Businesses Need to Know About the Year’s Biggest Cyber Threats

TL;DR: The World Economic Forum’s 2026 cybersecurity report reveals AI vulnerabilities as the fastest-growing threat, with 87% of organizations reporting increased risk. Cyber-enabled fraud now tops CEO concerns, while skills shortages and supply chain vulnerabilities continue to challenge small and medium-sized businesses.

 

The World Economic Forum has released its fifth annual Global Cybersecurity Outlook, and the findings paint a complex picture for business owners navigating today’s digital environment. Based on surveys from over 800 qualified participants across 92 countries – including 316 CISOs and 105 CEOs – this report offers critical insights that every Houston business owner should understand.

What’s immediately clear is that cybersecurity has evolved far beyond a technical concern. It’s now a strategic, economic, and societal issue that demands attention from the C-suite down to every employee who touches a keyboard. The speed and scale of attacks are testing traditional defenses, and the gap between well-resourced organizations and those struggling to keep up continues to widen.

  AI: The Double-Edged Sword Reshaping Cyber Risk

Artificial intelligence dominates this year’s findings, and not just because it’s a trending topic. The numbers tell a compelling story about how AI is fundamentally changing both offense and defense in cybersecurity.

• 94% of survey respondents identified AI as the most significant driver of change in cybersecurity for the year ahead
• 87% of respondents said AI-related vulnerabilities were the fastest-growing cyber risk over the course of 2025
• Organizations assessing the security of AI tools before deployment nearly doubled from 37% in 2025 to 64% in 2026
• 77% of organizations have now adopted AI for cybersecurity purposes, primarily for phishing detection (52%), intrusion response (46%), and user-behavior analytics (40%)
• Data leaks through generative AI (34%) and advancement of adversarial capabilities (29%) emerged as the leading concerns for 2026
• 54% of organizations cited insufficient knowledge and skills as a key obstacle to adopting AI-driven security solutions

The report highlights a critical shift: while the “AI arms race” between attackers and defenders continues, attention is pivoting from purely offensive innovation toward the unintended exposure of sensitive data through generative and agentic AI systems. Criminal actors are exploiting AI to automate and scale social engineering efforts, producing realistic phishing emails, deepfake audio and video, and falsified documentation that evades conventional detection.

  Geopolitical Volatility: Now a Core Cybersecurity Concern

If you think geopolitics only affects multinational corporations, think again. The interconnected nature of modern business means that instability anywhere can create cyber risks everywhere.

• 64% of organizations are now accounting for geopolitically motivated cyberattacks in their risk mitigation strategies
• 91% of the largest organizations have changed their cybersecurity strategies due to geopolitical volatility
• 31% of survey participants expressed lack of confidence in their nation’s ability to respond to major cyber incidents – up from 26% last year
• 36% of organizations have increased their focus on threat intelligence related to nation-state actors
• 33% have deepened engagement with government agencies or information-sharing groups
• 23% of public-sector organizations reported having insufficient cyber resilience capabilities – more than double the 11% in private sector

The report notes that cyber operations have become tools of diplomacy and influence, used to shape political outcomes and disrupt trade. For Houston businesses, particularly those in energy, manufacturing, or with international supply chains, this means geopolitical risk assessments should be part of regular cybersecurity planning.

  Cyber-Enabled Fraud: CEOs’ New Top Concern

Here’s a significant shift that deserves attention: CEOs have moved cyber-enabled fraud and phishing to the top of their concern list, displacing ransomware which held that position in 2025.

• 73% of respondents reported that they or someone in their network had been personally affected by cyber-enabled fraud over the past year
• 77% reported an increase in cyber-enabled fraud and phishing overall
• Sub-Saharan Africa leads with 82% of respondents reporting exposure to digital scams, followed by North America at 79%
• The three most common attack types were phishing, vishing, and smishing (62%), invoice or payment fraud (37%), and identity theft (32%)
• AI-enabled translation and localization of social engineering tactics now makes impersonations more culturally authentic and harder to detect

The emergence of deepfake technology is creating particularly thorny challenges. The report cites examples of fabricated videos of public figures being used to swindle victims, and malicious deepfakes designed to disrupt elections. For businesses, this means traditional verification methods may no longer be sufficient.

  Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: The Risk You Can’t Fully Control

Supply chain security continues to climb the priority list, particularly for larger organizations that recognize their resilience depends on the strength of their entire ecosystem.

• 65% of large companies indicate third-party and supply chain vulnerabilities are their greatest challenge – up from 54% in 2025
• The top supply chain risks are inheritance risk (inability to assure integrity of third-party software, hardware, and services) and lack of visibility into the extended supply chain
• Only 27% of organizations simulate cyber incidents or conduct recovery exercises with ecosystem partners
• Just 33% comprehensively map their supply chain ecosystems to understand threat exposure
• 66% evaluate the security maturity of their suppliers, while 65% involve security functions in procurement processes

The report uses a striking example: a cyberattack affecting check-in and boarding systems at several major European airport hubs caused cascading disruptions with flight delays and cancellations. The incident exposed how a relatively minor breach in one system can propagate across an entire interconnected ecosystem.

 The Skills Gap: Still Widening

Despite years of attention to the cybersecurity skills shortage, the problem persists – and it’s hitting smaller organizations and certain regions particularly hard.

• 85% of organizations reporting insufficient cyber resilience also cited missing critical skills and people
• Only 22% of highly resilient organizations viewed skills gaps as a significant challenge
• Latin America and the Caribbean face the greatest shortage, with 65% of organizations reporting they lack critical people and skills
• Sub-Saharan Africa follows closely at 63%
• The top three cybersecurity roles experiencing shortages are threat intelligence analysts, DevSecOps engineers, and identity and access management specialists
• 46% of small organizations report lacking cybersecurity skills and expertise, compared with 29% of large organizations

This disparity creates a dangerous dynamic: within interconnected supply chains, differences in capabilities significantly increase systemic exposure. Adversaries can target less-protected partners to infiltrate high-value organizations downstream.

  What Sets Resilient Organizations Apart

The report identifies clear differentiators between highly resilient organizations and those struggling with insufficient cybersecurity capabilities.

• 99% of highly resilient organizations report board involvement in cybersecurity
• 78% of highly resilient organizations have the skills needed to achieve cybersecurity objectives, compared to just 15% of insufficiently resilient organizations
• 76% of highly resilient organizations involve their security function in procurement processes
• 83% of highly resilient organizations assess AI tool security before deployment, compared to 39% of insufficiently resilient ones
• 74% of highly resilient organizations assess the security maturity of their suppliers
• 44% of highly resilient organizations simulate cyber incidents with ecosystem partners, compared to only 16% of insufficiently resilient organizations
• Supply chain exposure ranks as the top cyber risk concern among high-resilience organizations

The data reveals that resilience isn’t just about technology – it’s about governance, processes, and culture. Highly resilient organizations demonstrate strong board engagement, embed security into business processes, and take a proactive approach to managing risks across their entire ecosystem.

  Looking Ahead: Emerging Threats on the Horizon

The report also identifies several emerging threat vectors that may seem distant but warrant attention now.

• 37% of respondents believe quantum technologies will affect cybersecurity within the next 12 months
• 26% indicated autonomous systems and robotics will impact cybersecurity
• Only 15% of respondents consider space assets in cyber risk mitigation, despite their critical role in navigation, timing, and communications
• By 2030, climate volatility and digital dependency will converge, transforming natural disasters into complex cyber-physical crises
• The window for proactive migration to post-quantum cryptography standards is closing fast

 How CinchOps Can Help

As a Houston-based managed services provider with over three decades of technology experience, CinchOps understands the unique challenges facing small and medium-sized businesses trying to navigate this evolving threat environment. The findings from this global report underscore what we see every day: cybersecurity is no longer optional, and the organizations that thrive will be those that treat it as a core business priority rather than a technical afterthought.

• Managed IT Support: CinchOps provides continuous monitoring and management of your IT infrastructure, ensuring vulnerabilities are identified and addressed before they become breaches
• Cybersecurity Assessments: We evaluate your current security posture against the latest threat intelligence, identifying gaps that could leave you exposed to AI-powered attacks and other emerging risks
• Network Security: From firewall management to intrusion detection, we implement layered defenses that protect your business from both external and internal threats
• Employee Security Training: With phishing and social engineering attacks growing more sophisticated through AI, your team needs regular, updated training to recognize and report suspicious activity
• Supply Chain Risk Management: We help you assess and monitor the security posture of your vendors and partners, because your resilience depends on your entire ecosystem
• Incident Response Planning: Don’t wait until a breach occurs to figure out your response – we help you develop and test plans so you’re prepared when the worst happens
• Compliance Support: As regulations continue to evolve, we help ensure your security practices meet current requirements while preparing for future mandates

The report makes clear that cyber inequity is real: smaller organizations are twice as likely to experience insufficient resilience as larger ones. CinchOps exists to change that equation for Houston businesses, providing enterprise-grade cybersecurity expertise without requiring enterprise-level budgets.

 Discover More 

Discover more about our enterprise-grade and business protecting cybersecurity services: CinchOps Cybersecurity
Discover related topics: State-Sponsored Cyber Attacks Target U.S. Critical Infrastructure
For Additional Information on this topic: Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: INSIGHT REPORT

FREE CYBERSECURITY ASSESSMENT