AI-driven adversaries, regulatory pressure and unmanaged assets to push enterprises toward outcome-based cybersecurity
CyCognito has released five major predictions outlining how external attack-surface management (ASM) will evolve in 2026—highlighting a year dominated by AI-powered adversaries, expanding digital footprints, and rising regulatory obligations. Based on its deep analysis of Global 2000 internet-facing assets, the company warns that organisations still lack a full, attacker’s-view understanding of their external exposures, leaving data-collection pages, outdated applications and misconfigured cloud resources dangerously unguarded.
According to CyCognito, unmanaged and unknown assets will become the biggest drivers of breaches, brand damage and regulatory non-compliance by 2026. With enterprises now operating across thousands of cloud, SaaS, subsidiary and third-party assets, the traditional patch-and-audit model is no longer sufficient.
“Enterprises that align attack-surface management directly with business outcomes will be the ones resilient enough to withstand tomorrow’s threats,” says Rob Gurzeev, CEO & Co-Founder, CyCognito.
A key trend for next year is regulatory complexity. Global frameworks like DORA, NIS2 and the SEC’s cybersecurity disclosure rules are raising expectations around resilience, continuous monitoring, and executive transparency. CyCognito predicts that enterprises will need ASM platforms capable of delivering provable compliance, real-time visibility and board-level reporting.
The company also anticipates that full-scope, attacker-centric visibility will become a baseline requirement. Attackers see an organisation as one interconnected ecosystem, and in 2026, security teams will be expected to do the same—moving away from point-in-time audits toward continuously updated discovery mapping all external assets.
Another trend is the shift toward platformization with flexibility. While tool consolidation is accelerating, the winners will be platforms that integrate seamlessly with SIEM, SOAR, GRC and hybrid cloud environments—without adding operational friction.
AI-powered automation will further reshape the landscape. Continuous risk validation will begin replacing manual penetration testing as enterprises adopt ASM platforms that can simulate attacker behaviour, prioritise exposures, and validate remediation at scale.
Finally, external risk will become a board-level mandate. Amid geopolitical and economic uncertainties, boards are demanding measurable outcomes tied to resilience, cost optimisation and brand reputation. ASM will shift from being a technical function to a strategic business enabler.
CyCognito’s forecasts underscore a pivotal shift: enterprises that modernise their ASM programs now will enter 2026 with stronger resilience, clearer visibility and greater business confidence.