Signal WEF Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026: 91% of large enterprises revised cyber strategy on geopolitical volatility

Summary

The World Economic Forum's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 report, produced with Accenture, found that 91% of organizations with more than 100,000 employees have changed their cybersecurity strategies in response to geopolitical volatility. The report also found that 64% of organizations now factor geopolitically motivated cyberattacks, such as disruption of critical infrastructure or espionage, into their overall cyber risk mitigation strategy. It links rising cyber risk to a shift toward a "paradigm of more global confrontation," driven partly by trade policies such as tariffs and export restrictions. Confidence in national cyber preparedness is eroding, with 31% of respondents reporting low confidence in their nation's ability to respond to major cyber incidents, up from 26% the prior year, and confidence varies sharply by region (84% in the Middle East and North Africa versus 13% in Latin America and the Caribbean). Separately, 94% of leaders surveyed expect AI to be the most consequential force shaping cybersecurity in 2026, and 73% of respondents were themselves affected by fraud or knew someone who was in 2025. No direct RSAC 2026 or Dark Reading article citing this specific 91% figure was located in the sources reviewed.