A new global survey from Veeam reveals that cybersecurity threats and AI-driven disruptions will be the top concerns for IT leaders in 2026, as organizations face rising risks from ransomware, multi-cloud complexity, and AI-generated cyberattacks. The study, which polled more than 250 senior IT and business decision-makers, highlights how data visibility, regulatory compliance, and resilience planning are emerging as critical priorities for enterprises worldwide.
Cybersecurity & AI Attacks Emerge as the Biggest IT Disruptors for 2026
According to the Veeam 2026 IT Trends Report, 49% of IT leaders say cybersecurity threats will be the most significant disruptor next year, followed by AI maturity and regulation (22%). Respondents also noted growing concerns around skills shortages (10%), cloud complexity (8%), and the increased potential for AI-driven automation failures (27%). Most notably, AI-generated cyberattacks (66%) are now viewed as the most serious threat to enterprise data—ranking even higher than ransomware (50%).
With threat levels escalating, IT leaders are doubling down on data protection, cyber resilience, and sovereign cloud strategies:
- 45% say strengthening cybersecurity is their No. 1 “must-win” initiative for 2026.
- 24% prioritize building stronger enterprise data resilience.
- 54% expect to moderately or significantly increasing spending on data protection and cyber recovery.
- 76% rate data sovereignty as extremely or moderately important, underscoring global concerns around compliance, regulatory risk, and geopolitical data governance.
Reduced Data Visibility and Low Recovery Confidence
- Despite growing investment in cybersecurity, organizations continue to struggle with multi-cloud visibility and disaster recovery confidence:
- 60% say multi-cloud and SaaS adoption have reduced visibility into where their data resides.
- Only 29% are highly confident in recovering from a zero-day exploit.
- 71% admit they are not confident or only somewhat confident in operating through a multi-day cloud provider outage.
These gaps expose significant weaknesses in cloud resilience, observability, and backup readiness across enterprise environments.
“Organizations are entering 2026 with unprecedented complexity as cyber threats intensify and AI accelerates. To thrive, enterprises must prioritize data resilience, compliance, and secure AI adoption, while embracing innovation responsibly,” said Anand Eswaran, CEO of Veeam.
The survey reveals a strong shift toward governance-driven cybersecurity, with organizations increasingly prioritizing accountability and higher security standards across their ecosystems. A significant 72% of respondents support a ban on ransomware payments—more than half strongly—while 41% believe that greater executive accountability would meaningfully strengthen cybersecurity posture. Additionally, 88% emphasize that ensuring partners and suppliers meet strict cybersecurity and data protection requirements will be critical in 2026.
Together, these findings highlight a growing industry consensus that cyber resilience has evolved beyond technical controls into a broader mandate rooted in governance, trust, and supply-chain integrity.
