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Key takeaways
In a rush? Here are the key takeaways, which you can scan now and then come back to later.
The traditional network perimeter has continued to decline as cloud computing, SaaS platforms and hybrid working have become the norm.
AI-enabled social engineering has significantly increased the scale and sophistication of identity-based attacks.
Multi-factor authentication remains essential but is no longer sufficient on its own to defend against modern adversaries.
Continuous identity verification and behavioural analysis are becoming central components of enterprise security strategies.
Machine identities, service accounts and autonomous AI agents are rapidly expanding organisational attack surfaces.
In 2026, the organisations best positioned to defend themselves are those that treat identity as the foundation of cybersecurity rather than simply another access management function.
For decades, cybersecurity strategy revolved around a relatively simple idea: keep attackers outside the network. Firewalls, intrusion detection systems and virtual private networks formed a defensive boundary between trusted internal systems and an untrusted internet. Although no organisation ever relied entirely upon perimeter security, much of the industry’s thinking assumed that once a user or device crossed that boundary, it could generally be trusted.
That assumption has been eroding for years. Cloud computing, software-as-a-service platforms, remote working and mobile devices steadily weakened the concept of a clearly defined corporate network. By 2026, however, another force has accelerated that transition. Artificial intelligence has dramatica