Olympic-level threats & AI arms races: Navigating cybersecurity in 2026

The cybersecurity industry loves to say threats are getting 'more sophisticated'. But here's the truth: attackers aren't getting smarter; they're just getting better at exploiting the same gaps we've known about for years with new technology.

In 2026, those gaps are widening. Global sporting events are creating distributed attack surfaces that span continents. AI infrastructure companies are concentrating massive computing power and sensitive IP in ways that make them irresistible targets. And employees are so overwhelmed they're turning to unauthorized AI tools just to keep up, inadvertently creating a whole new category of insider risk.

Our Mimecast cybersecurity experts break down what's actually changing in 2026 and what you should do about it.

Cybersecurity prediction #1: Forget Fort Knox — In 2026, AI infrastructure is where the gold lives

The AI gold rush is in full swing, and the companies building the digital picks and shovels — NVIDIA, AMD, hyperscale data centers, and AI infrastructure providers — are now the crown jewels for cyber adversaries.

The value of proprietary AI models, chip designs, and training data has never been higher, and attackers know it. These environments concentrate massive compute, sensitive IP, and privileged access in one place, making them irresistible targets as AI becomes foundational to everything from national security to critical infrastructure. 

The human attack surface is expanding just as fast. Employees at AI infrastructure companies are prime targets for LinkedIn impersonation schemes that are nearly impossible to detect — fake recruiters from rival AI firms, impersonators posing as venture capitalists, or fabricated colleagues requesting urgent access. These aren't spray-and-pray phishing attempts. Attackers are capable of researching their targets extensively, understanding org charts, mimicking communication styles, and exploiting the fast-moving, high-trust culture that defines AI companies.

Supply chain complexity multiplies the risk: a single compromised vendor or startup can open the door to espionage, IP theft, or devastating ransomware. China, in particular, is expected to ramp up its efforts to infiltrate these organizations, while e-crime groups will look for disruption and extortion opportunities, betting that even short outages in AI infrastructure will command a premium ransom.

From prediction to action: What security leaders should do now

Supply chain vigilance: Go beyond basic vendor questionnaires. Implement continuous monitoring of third-party risk (including startups and small suppliers) and require regular security attestations.

Employee verification & authentication: Tighten controls on employee onboarding, offboarding, and access to sensitive systems. Use strong, adaptive authentication and monitor for impersonation attempts.

Sector-specific information sharing: Participate actively in sector ISACs and threat intelligence exchanges, focusing on AI-specific vulnerabilities and attack patterns.

Zero-trust architecture: Treat every user, device, and application as untrusted by default. Enforce least-privilege access and micro-segmentation across the environment.

AI security governance: Establish clear policies for the use, monitoring, and governance of AI models and agents, including regular audits for shadow AI and abandoned tools.

Incident response drills: Simulate attacks on both core infrastructure and supply chain partners to test detection, response, and recovery capabilities.

Related Watch: Crisis in Action: Cyber Attack Simulation [WEBINAR]

Cybersecurity prediction #2: For the sport of IT — Cybercriminals go for gold at global games

The world will be watching as the Winter Olympics and FIFA World Cup unfold across multiple countries and cities in 2026. But behind the scenes, another contest will be raging — a high-stakes cyber battle for control, disruption, and influence. With infrastructure, apps, and data spread across dozens of venues and providers, the attack surface is now truly global and distributed, making it exponentially harder to defend.

Cybercriminals and nation-state actors alike are already preparing their playbooks. Expect to see the most convincing phishing campaigns yet powered by AI and tuned to the excitement and urgency around these highly anticipated, global events. Fans desperate for tickets, along with volunteers and staff, will be targeted with emails and messages that are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.

And the threats won't stop at phishing. Ransomware attacks could cripple ticketing systems or broadcasting infrastructure, as organizers juggle complex vendor ecosystems, legacy systems, and just-in-time operations under global scrutiny. Deepfakes may be deployed to fabricate controversial plays or manipulate public perception, building on the same tactics already seen in political influence campaigns and disinformation operations.

DDoS attacks could disrupt live streams and event apps at critical moments, while e-crime groups and nation-state actors seize the opportunity for large-scale influence operations and mass data collection against fans, teams, and sponsors.

From prediction to action: What security leaders should do now

Layered security awareness: Move beyond generic training. Deliver targeted, event-specific social engineering awareness training and digital brand authentication for all staff, volunteers, and partners.

AI-powered threat detection: Deploy advanced, AI-powered real-time threat intelligence and AI-driven email defenses to spot and block sophisticated phishing and deepfake campaigns.

Distributed incident response: Prepare for the unique challenges of a multi-country, multi-city event. Run simulation exercises that account for time zone, jurisdiction, and language barriers.

Collaborative defense: Establish rapid information-sharing protocols with sector-specific ISACs, law enforcement, and event organizers.

Brand protection: Monitor for fraudulent domains, fake ticketing sites, and impersonation attempts, and take swift takedown action.

Resilience planning: Ensure critical infrastructure (ticketing, broadcasting, transportation) has robust backup and recovery plans and test them under realistic attack scenarios.

Get the 2025 Global Threat Intelligence Report

Cybersecurity prediction #3: Last call for security alerts — AI Is taking over triage

For years, security operations centers (SOCs) have been buried under a relentless flood of alerts — each one a potential threat, most of them noise. Analysts spend hours triaging, investigating, and closing out false positives, only to watch the queue refill before they can catch their breath. It's a recipe for burnout, missed signals, and a backlog that never really goes away.

In 2026, this Sisyphean grind finally meets its match: AI.

AI-powered systems are changing how organizations handle alerts. Instead of drowning in dashboards and manual investigations, SOCs are leaning on AI agents to pull in context, correlate data across tools, and even resolve routine incidents before a human ever sees a notification. Instead of merely filtering noise, these systems continually learn from each alert, adjusting to emerging threats and shifting attack patterns in real time. What once required days of effort can now be resolved in minutes, allowing security teams to move away from constant triage and focus on more strategic, high-value work.

This shift represents a deep change in how organizations approach threat management. With AI assuming more of the labor-intensive tasks, human analysts move into roles centered on orchestration, validation, and long-term strategy rather than immediate reaction. Organizations that lean into this evolution stand to cut risk and response times while developing security programs that are more resilient, adaptable, and capable of matching the rapid pace of today's threat landscape.

From prediction to action: What security leaders should do now

Integrate AI-driven triage and response: Deploy AI-powered tools that automate the collection, enrichment, and correlation of alert data. These systems should be able to group related alerts, assign risk scores, and initiate response actions autonomously, dramatically reducing the manual workload for analysts.

Human-in-the-loop oversight: While AI can handle the bulk of routine triage, maintain clear protocols for human oversight, especially for high-risk or novel incidents. Analysts should be empowered to audit, interpret, and validate AI-driven decisions, ensuring accountability and continuous improvement.

Real-time risk feedback for users: For teams managing human risk, leverage AI to proactively identify risky behaviors and deliver immediate, personalized feedback and training at the moment of risk. This just-in-time approach helps correct risky actions before they escalate.

Automate incident reporting and documentation: Use AI to generate comprehensive, real-time incident reports and maintain audit trails for all automated actions. This not only streamlines compliance but also provides valuable data for post-incident analysis and continuous improvement.

Upskill security teams as "AI orchestrators": As manual triage fades, invest in training your security staff to become experts in auditing, interpreting, and managing AI-driven tools. The most valuable skillsets will shift from technical troubleshooting to oversight, judgment, and strategic risk management.

Monitor for AI blind spots and shadow tools: Stay vigilant for gaps in AI coverage — such as unmonitored endpoints, abandoned tools, or rogue AI agents. Regularly audit your environment to ensure all critical systems are protected and that AI-driven processes are functioning as intended.

Foster a culture of continuous adaptation: Encourage a mindset of ongoing learning and adaptation. As attackers evolve their tactics, so too must your AI models and response playbooks. Regularly review and update your AI systems to ensure they remain effective against emerging threats.

Related Read: How Mimecast Sets the Standard for AI Governance

Cybersecurity prediction #4: Gone phishing — Email will account for 90% of cyber-attacks in 2026

Phishing is evolving, not fading. In 2026, email will still be the primary entry point for cyberattacks and will drive up to 90% of breaches as AI further evolves and attackers double down on what works. Phishing incidents have already climbed from 60% to 77% of observed attacks in the last year, fueled by AI that makes lures more personalized, fluent, and believable.

As collaboration tools tighten access and monitoring, more day-to-day work is pushed back into email — raising both volume and exposure. At the same time, attackers are shifting from broad spray-and-pray campaigns to highly targeted strikes, impersonating executives and key employees and layering in deepfake audio and video to increase pressure and urgency. Even well-trained, vigilant employees can struggle to spot these attacks, creating a threat landscape where one convincing message can still open the door.

From prediction to action: What security leaders should do now

AI-driven email security: Invest in next-generation email filtering and threat detection that leverages AI to spot subtle, context-aware attacks.

Continuous, adaptive training: Move beyond annual phishing tests. Delivering ongoing, adaptive training reflects the latest attack techniques and real-world scenarios.

Executive protection: Provide enhanced monitoring and protection for high-value targets, including executives and finance staff.

Incident simulation: Regularly run phishing simulations and tabletop exercises to test response and recovery.

Collaboration tool integration: Ensure security controls extend to all communication platforms, not just email, and monitor for data leakage across channels.

Rapid reporting culture: Foster a culture where employees are encouraged and rewarded for reporting suspicious messages, with clear, simple escalation paths.

Cybersecurity prediction #5: 2026's insider threat — Overworked, overstressed, and armed with shadow AI

The human element is under siege. As organizations cut headcount and raise productivity expectations, employees are stretched to the breaking point. Stress, burnout, and mental fatigue are at all-time highs, especially among women and parents, who shoulder disproportionate burdens.

This pressure cooker environment is a breeding ground for mistakes: clicking a well-crafted phish, mishandling sensitive data, or, in some cases, deliberately exfiltrating information when people feel overlooked, overworked, or checked out. Layer on a new twist — "shadow AI" — and the risk compounds. In search of shortcuts, employees are quietly adopting unsanctioned AI tools, pasting proprietary data into consumer apps or even training personal models on company information they can take with them when they leave.

The attack surface is expanding faster than most teams can track. By mid-2026, many enterprises may be dealing with ten times as many rogue AI agents as unauthorized cloud apps, each acting as a potential new insider. At the same time, attackers are actively courting insiders and probing outsourced operations in lower-cost regions where controls and culture may be weaker.

The next phase of security will be defined by how effectively organizations understand and manage this convergence of human and AI risk — treating people, AI agents, and access decisions as a single, connected risk surface rather than separate problems.

From prediction to action: What security leaders should do now

Proactive insider risk management: Move from "trust but verify" to "assume and hunt." Use AI to proactively detect anomalous behavior, data exfiltration, and shadow AI activity.

AI agent governance: Treat every AI agent as a first-class digital identity — authenticated, monitored, and governed. Audit regularly for unauthorized tools and abandoned agents.

Support employee well-being: Address chronic stress with workload management, mental health resources, and flexible work policies. Recognize that well-being is a security imperative.

Dynamic, personalized training: Deliver ongoing, role-specific security awareness that builds confidence and competence, making employees your strongest line of defense.

AI risk literacy: Educate every employee on the risks and responsibilities of using AI tools and require explicit authorization for any new deployments.

Upskill security teams: Invest in developing "AI orchestrators" — security professionals skilled at auditing, interpreting, and managing autonomous AI agents, not just traditional technical skills.

Collaborative oversight: Foster a culture of partnership between humans and AI, where oversight, judgment, and accountability are shared.

Related Read: Human Risk. Secured: Mimecast's Approach to Implementing Protection By AI, From AI, and For AI

Cybersecurity trends conclusion: Leading through 2026

Here's what most cybersecurity predictions won't tell you: 2026 isn't going to be hard because attackers discovered some brilliant new technique. It's going to be hard because all the cracks we've been ignoring are widening at the same time.

The attack surface is expanding through the concentration of AI infrastructure, persistent email vulnerabilities, unmanageable alert volumes, and shadow AI proliferation. These aren't sophisticated new threats. They're the same gaps we've always had, just wider and more consequential.

But here's the good news: we know what these problems are, and we have the tools to address them. The organizations that will thrive in 2026 are the ones ready to embrace the human-AI partnership, protect their people, govern their AI agents, automate what's drowning their teams, and build programs agile enough to keep pace. The challenges are real, but they're not insurmountable if we stop chasing sophistication and start addressing reality.

Want to turn these predictions into a 2026 game plan? Register for Episode 4 of our ongoing webinar series on Dec. 11, 2025. Join us to dive deeper into 2026 Cybersecurity Predictions and get practical guidance from Mimecast experts.