Gartner Unveils Top Cybersecurity Trends for 2026: AI Agents and Quantum Threats Take Centre Stage

 

 

Cybersecurity leaders face "uncharacterised territory" as the rise of autonomous AI agents and post-quantum threats demand a radical shift in risk management.
 

 

The convergence of autonomous "agentic" AI, heightened geopolitical tensions, and extreme regulatory volatility is set to redefine the global cybersecurity landscape in 2026.

 

According to the latest insights from Gartner, Inc., cybersecurity leaders are entering a period of unprecedented change that will test the resilience of even the most mature organisations.

 

“Cybersecurity leaders are navigating unchartered territory this year,” said Alex Michaels, Director Analyst at Gartner, during the briefing in Bangkok. “The speed of change demands a total departure from traditional risk management, shifting focus instead towards resilience and adaptive resource allocation.”

 

Gartner identified six pivotal trends that will dominate the executive agenda over the next 12 months:

 

1. The Rise of Agentic AI

As employees and developers increasingly adopt AI agents, new attack surfaces are emerging. The proliferation of "vibe coding" and low-code platforms has led to an explosion of unmanaged AI agents. Gartner warns that without robust oversight, these autonomous actors could lead to significant regulatory breaches and unsecured code vulnerabilities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Global Regulatory Volatility

Geopolitics is now a primary driver of cyber resilience. Regulators are increasingly holding boards and individual executives personally liable for compliance failures. Gartner advises that cyber risk must now be treated as a critical business risk, necessitating formalised collaboration between legal, procurement, and technical teams.

 

3. The Post-Quantum Transition

With quantum computing expected to render current asymmetric cryptography unsafe by 2030, Gartner suggests that "harvest now, decrypt later" attacks are already a threat to long-term sensitive data. Organisations must begin migrating to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) immediately to ensure cryptographic agility before traditional encryption becomes obsolete.

 

4. Identity Management for Machine Actors

Traditional Identity and Access Management (IAM) is struggling to keep pace with AI agents. The rise of machine actors requires new strategies for credential automation and policy-driven authorisation. Failure to adapt IAM frameworks to autonomous agents will significantly increase the risk of access-related breaches.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. AI-Driven Security Operations (SOC)

The emergence of AI-enabled Security Operations Centres (SOCs) is introducing new complexities to staffing. While AI can enhance alert triage, it also increases the demand for rapid upskilling. Michaels emphasised that leaders must maintain "human-in-the-loop" frameworks to ensure that AI-supported processes remain resilient and strategically aligned.

 

 

6. The Failure of Traditional Security Awareness

Existing training programmes are failing to curb the risks posed by Generative AI (GenAI). A Gartner survey conducted in late 2025 revealed that 57% of employees use personal GenAI accounts for work, with one-third admitting to inputting sensitive corporate data into unapproved tools. Gartner recommends a shift toward adaptive, behaviour-based training that addresses AI-specific risks and privacy exposure.

 

As these forces converge, Gartner concludes that the most successful organisations in 2026 will be those that prioritisation governance and human capability alongside technological adoption.