As we head into 2026, the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace. To understand what organisations should prepare for in the year ahead, we sat down with Gareth Lockwood, Chief Product & Technology Officer, and Tom Beresford, Lead Strategic Account Manager at TrustLayer, to get their expert insights on the emerging trends, threats, and opportunities shaping the future of digital risk.
Their predictions highlight where the industry is heading, and how TrustLayer is positioning itself to help organisations stay secure, compliant, and resilient in the face of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.
1. AI-driven threats will accelerate, and so will AI-powered defence
Artificial intelligence is no longer an emerging talking point; it’s now a core driver of both cyber-attacks and defensive strategies.
“We’re seeing threat actors use AI to scan for weaknesses, generate convincing phishing content, and scale attacks at speeds we’ve never experienced before,” Gareth explains.
“But the good news is that defensive AI is evolving just as fast. In 2026, the winners will be organisations using AI proactively, not reactively.”
What this means for SMB and mid-market organisations in 2026:
- Highly personalised phishing emails, that look genuinely human, powered by behavioural AI.
- Machine-speed lateral movement.
- Real-time anomaly detection using defensive machine learning.
- Automated incident response workflows.
TrustLayer’s 2026 roadmap invests heavily in expanding AI-driven detection and automated response capabilities designed to reduce time-to-containment and prevent emerging attacks before they escalate, without enterprise-level cost or complexity.
2. Supplier and SaaSrisk will become a top board-level priority
The last two years saw a significant spike in supply-chain-related breaches. Tom expects this trend to continue and intensify.
“Businesses are relying on more external tools, vendors, and SaaS platforms than ever before,” Tom notes.
“But every vendor becomes part of your security posture and introduces another layer of risk. In 2026, supply chain security won’t just be an IT concern: it will be a strategic imperative.”
Key developments expected next year:
- Increased scrutiny of third-party risk management (TPRM).
- Regulatory pressure on vendor assurance and documentation.
- Consolidated monitoring across all vendor touchpoints.
- A shift away from annual questionnaires, with greater demand for automated, ongoing monitoring.
TrustLayer is expanding continuous vendor-visibility tools and continuous monitoring to help organisations stay ahead of evolving risks.
3. Human Risk Management will become smarter, and less disruptive
While traditional security awareness training still has value, both Gareth and Tom see a shift toward more adaptive, behaviour-led approaches.
“Traditional once-a-year training is not enough. The future is behavioural,” Gareth explains.
“It’s about understanding who is most at risk, why, and when”
In practical terms through 2026, expect to see:
- Continuous human-risk scoring based on real behaviour.
- Tailored micro-learning.
- Adaptive training driven and alerts when someone is more likely to make a mistake.
- Predictive risk alerts based on user patterns, and less disruption to day-to-day work.
TrustLayer will continue enhancing human-risk analytics to help organisations build a more resilient workforce.
4. Consolidation will replace tool sprawl
Many organisations are overwhelmed by the volume of security tools they manage, and more tools doesn’t mean better security. According to Tom:
“Teams are looking for platforms that unify detection, reporting, vendor management, and governance in one place. Tool consolidation is no longer nice to have, it’s essential for accuracy and cost efficiency.”
The industry is moving toward integrated security ecosystems, and TrustLayer’s focus for 2026 is continuing to deliver a unified, simplified experience for customers and MSP partners. bringing together security monitoring, control, vendor risk, compliance, and reporting into a single easy-to-manage platform.
5. Compliance will become continuous
As regulations across the UK, EU, and international markets continue to increase, compliance is becoming more complex and resource-intensive and unsustainable for many SMEs. Automation will be the only sustainable path forward.
Through 2026, compliance will increasingly mean:
- Automated evidence collection.
- Always-on compliance monitoring.
- Real-time reporting and audit readiness
- Predictive early-warning of non-compliance alerts.
TrustLayer’s governance roadmap for 2026 will make compliance significantly easier and more transparent.
Looking ahead
2026 will be a turning point for cybersecurity, especially SMEs: one where AI, automation, vendor assurance, and smarter human-risk intelligence converge to reshape how organisations build digital resilience.
TrustLayer’s mission remains simple: enterprise-grade security, designed for growing businesses.
Keep your eyes peeled for our next year’s webinar, where Gareth and Tom will dive deeper into these predictions and answer your questions live.
