Are you ready for the evolving landscape of cybersecurity spending and risk management? According to Forrester’s 2026 Budget Planning Guide, organizations are shifting their focus to manage existing spending and new budgetary necessities in the face of volatile times.
Software now dominates cybersecurity spending, representing 40% of budgets, surpassing hardware, outsourcing, and personnel costs. With gen AI attacks happening in milliseconds, organizations are facing a new reality where defense strategies need to adapt quickly to keep up with attackers.
Three major threats, including generative AI, quantum computing, and deepfake fraud, are reshaping the cybersecurity landscape. Organizations must be prepared to defend against these evolving threats to stay ahead of cybercriminals.
Platform consolidation is becoming crucial as security teams managing multiple tools are losing millions to integration costs. By streamlining their security architecture, organizations can improve their detection time and response to threats.
Security budgets are expected to surge in the coming years, with a focus on combating gen AI attacks that outpace traditional defense mechanisms. Regional spending variations highlight the different responses to emerging threats.
Runtime defenses are now critical as organizations look to protect the inference layer of AI models. Cloud security, on-premises technology, and security awareness training are top investment priorities to strengthen defenses.
Quantum computing poses a significant risk to enterprises, with the need for post-quantum cryptography adoption becoming urgent. Security leaders must prioritize updating encryption strategies to avoid vulnerability.
The explosion of machine identities is fueling a credential crisis, emphasizing the need for scaling machine identity management. AI-driven solutions like Unified Endpoint Management are essential to managing the growing number of endpoints and vulnerabilities.
Divesting legacy tools and adopting integrated platforms is key to enhancing visibility and streamlining security management. CISOs must consolidate security at AI’s inference edge to maintain control and secure AI deployments at scale.
