Cyber-Enabled Fraud and AI Risk Move to the Executive Agenda

Cyber-enabled fraud has overtaken ransomware as CEOs’ leading concern, while AI-related vulnerabilities and geopolitical fragmentation widen the gap between well-resourced organizations and the rest.

World Economic Forum

2026

Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026

STRATEGIC OUTLOOK · SECBRIEFS ANALYSIS

THE SHORT VERSION

Executive Takeaway

The World Economic Forum’s 2026 outlook elevates cyber-enabled fraud, AI risk and geopolitical fragmentation from technical concerns to executive strategy. Cyber fraud now ranks above ransomware among surveyed CEOs, while leaders expect AI to be the most consequential force shaping cybersecurity in 2026.

Organizations need to connect cybersecurity, fraud, AI governance and resilience. The report also warns that unequal capability and confidence across sectors and countries can turn third-party and ecosystem weakness into shared exposure.

Key Findings

01
Cyber-enabled fraud overtook ransomware as the leading concern among CEOs represented in the report.
02
Eighty-seven percent of respondents reported rising AI-related vulnerabilities during 2025.
03
Ninety-four percent of leaders expect AI to be the most consequential force shaping cybersecurity in 2026.
04
The share of organizations assessing AI security rose from 37% to 64%.
05
Thirty-one percent of respondents lacked confidence in their country’s ability to respond to cyberattacks on critical infrastructure.
06
The report identifies geopolitical fragmentation and cyber inequity as forces widening exposure between organizations and regions.

What the Data Says

94%

AI as the defining force

Nearly all surveyed leaders expect AI to be the most consequential force shaping cybersecurity in 2026.

87%

Rising AI vulnerabilities

Respondents widely reported an increase in AI-related vulnerabilities during 2025.

64%

AI security assessment

The share of organizations assessing AI security rose from 37% to 64%, showing progress but leaving a substantial gap.

What It Doesn’t Say / Limitations

The outlook is based substantially on executive and expert survey responses produced with Accenture. It captures leadership expectations and confidence rather than independently measured incident prevalence.

Perceptions may vary by respondent role, geography and organizational maturity. The report is strongest as a strategic signal about priorities and capability gaps, not as a forecast with precise probabilities.

Why It Matters

Cyber-enabled fraud is increasingly inseparable from cybersecurity. Identity compromise, social engineering, deepfakes and payment manipulation can create losses even when traditional infrastructure remains available.

AI governance also becomes a resilience issue as organizations deploy tools faster than they assess data access, integrations and misuse. Boards need a joined view of technology opportunity, control readiness and ecosystem dependence.

Who Should Care

Boards and executive committees
CISOs and security leaders
Fraud and financial-crime teams
AI governance and data leaders
Risk and resilience functions
Public-policy and critical-infrastructure leaders

SECBRIEFS VIEW

SecBriefs Assessment

The report is valuable because it reflects the agenda shift at leadership level: fraud, AI and geopolitics are now shaping cyber decisions together. Its survey basis means it should not be read as a direct measure of incident frequency.

For financial services, the strongest implication is organizational. Cybersecurity, anti-fraud, model risk, third-party risk and crisis management need shared scenarios and decision rights before an AI-enabled identity event crosses those boundaries.

What To Do Now

Create joint cyber-fraud scenarios covering identity takeover, deepfake-enabled approval and payment manipulation.
Require security assessment for AI systems before sensitive data, credentials or business actions are connected.
Measure critical third-party concentration and include geopolitical disruption in resilience exercises.
Define board-level risk indicators that combine exposure, response capability and business impact.
Support sector information sharing and collective defense where smaller ecosystem partners lack equivalent capability.
Review crisis decision rights for attacks affecting critical services or multiple jurisdictions.

ORIGINAL REPORT