EMA Research Blog: Navigating IT and Security Horizons

As I sit here watching the very soggy Rose Parade, my thoughts drift to the cybersecurity topics and trends we will talk about in 2026 (yes, that is how much of a nerd I actually am).

I remember that I have not yet written the obligatory cybersecurity trends blog, of which you have likely already seen a dozen. While this one does not have anything that would be considered “breaking news,” it does give you a sense of where my research and thoughts are as we enter 2026.

2026 is going to be different.

I'm sure that we have all thought that at the start of the new year, but it is different this year. It’s the year when "machine speed" isn't a marketing buzzword; it’s our daily reality. If you're making the calls on where the budget goes this year, here are five topics and trends that are top of mind for me.

We’ve officially moved past the "GenAI as a helpful intern" phase. In 2026, we are dealing with agentic AI—autonomous systems that can reason, prioritize, and execute multi-step attacks without a human ever touching a keyboard. On the offensive side, these agents are terrifyingly efficient. They can probe your network, adapt their evasion tactics in real time, and move from initial access to lateral movement in under 48 minutes. To counter this, your budget needs to pivot toward "defensive AI." We’re talking about the agentic SOC, where AI agents handle the data correlation and alert triage in milliseconds, leaving your human experts to focus on the high-level strategy.

Quantum computing used to be a "maybe in ten years" problem. Well, it’s 2026, and the clock has run out. We’ve reached a regulatory turning point at which governments in the EU and Canada are mandating post-quantum cryptography (PQC) migration plans. The immediate threat is harvest now, decrypt later (HNDL). Sophisticated actors are capturing your encrypted data today, waiting for a cryptographically relevant quantum computer to crack it tomorrow. For decision-makers, 2026 is the year of crypto-agility. You need an inventory of every cryptographic asset you own and a plan to swap algorithms without ripping out your entire infrastructure.

If you’re still relying on monthly vulnerability scans, you’re basically taking a polaroid of a moving target. In 2026, we’ve moved to continuous threat exposure management (CTEM). CTEM isn't just about finding bugs; it’s about attack path analysis. It identifies the sequence of misconfigurations and exposed credentials that a hacker would actually use to get to your crown jewels. Organizations that have swapped to CTEM are three times less likely to be breached because they focus on the 5% of vulnerabilities that actually pose a 95% risk. It’s about being continuous, not periodic.

Zero trust has finally shed its "buzzword" skin and become a cold, hard mandate. By 2026, it’s a requirement for public sector work and a "must-have" for cyber insurance coverage. The 2026 version of zero trust is much more dynamic. We’re moving toward continuous, AI-driven access management. Instead of a one-time login, systems are checking risk signals—like your geographic location, device health, and even behavioral biometrics—every single second. If you want to lower your insurance premiums by 15-30%, this is where you put your money.

The burden of manual compliance is at a breaking point. Managing thirty different security tools that don't talk to each other is a recipe for disaster (and burnout).

In 2026, we’re seeing a massive shift toward unified governance, risk, and compliance platforms. These systems use automated cross-walking to map one security control to multiple frameworks—like NIST, ISO, and DORA—simultaneously. This isn't just a technical win; it's a financial one. It replaces manual auditing with "agentic evidence collection," saving thousands of hours and giving the board a "single source of truth" for risk.

The 2026 cyber budget belongs to the organizations that are connected, continuous, and quantified. We’re no longer just buying tools; we’re building a strategic pillar for the business. Stop thinking about defense as a wall. Think of it as an immune system—one that is autonomous, quantum-aware, and always learning. If you can get these five trends right, you won't just survive the digital future; you’ll lead it.