Predictions 2026: Cybersecurity And Risk

Security, risk, and privacy leaders routinely juggle adapting to evolving technology with regulatory compliance and global infrastructure challenges. In 2026, agentic AI will be the cause of a public breach; governments will tightly regulate or control critical communication infrastructure; the European Union will establish its own known exploited vulnerability database; quantum security spending will exceed 5% of overall IT security budgets; and an aging IT services vendor will acquire a fading cybersecurity firm to revive itself. This report explores Forrester’s five predictions for cybersecurity, risk, and privacy in 2026.