Top Cybersecurity trends from Infosecurity Europe 2026

From the moment doors opened at Infosecurity Europe 2026, it was clear that the conversation around artificial intelligence had evolved.

No longer centred solely on basic large language models (LLMs), this year’s discussions pushed into more complex and consequential territory: AI agents, frontier capabilities and the dual-use reality of AI as both a powerful defence tool and an increasingly sophisticated weapon in the hands of threat actors.

Read more: Top 3 Highlights from the OWASP GenAI Security Summit at Infosecurity Europe

While AI dominated the agenda, it wasn’t the only story shaping the event. Across the show floor and conference theatres, a broader shift was evident. Cybersecurity is no longer a siloed technical concern but a business-critical risk demanding board-level attention. CISOs are being challenged to reframe cyber in the language of business value and resilience. Meanwhile, executives outside the security function are being called on to take greater ownership.

At the same time, small and medium-sized (SMBs) businesses took centre stage, with frank discussions about how organisations with limited resources can withstand an escalating wave of cyber threats.

In this blog, we highlight the key themes that emerged from Infosecurity Europe 2026, as covered by Infosecurity Magazine, from the rise of advanced AI to the growing need for cyber to be understood, prioritised and acted on across the entire business.

Patch Responsibility Remains Up for Grabs as AI Unearths Decades of Flaws

AI is accelerating vulnerability discovery and exploitation, forcing faster patching cycles and shifting debate over whether vendors, users or regulators should bear responsibility, while highlighting that patching alone is no longer sufficient for security.

AI Coding Tools Need Built-In Security for Agentic Development Era

AI-driven coding tools require security to be built in from the ground up because autonomous agents are accelerating development and introducing new attack surfaces that traditional AppSec practices can’t keep up with.

AI SOCs Will Still Need SOC Analysts, Security Vendors Say

AI-driven SOCs will automate routine triage and investigations, but human analysts remain essential to supervise, validate and improve AI systems while taking on more strategic security roles.

AI-Powered Cybercrime Tools Surge on Dark Web

Discussions about AI-powered cybercrime tools have surged by over 3800% on underground markets. With these tools in hand, cybercriminals can dramatically lower barriers to entry and enabling more unskilled threat actors to launch automated, scalable and sophisticated attacks.

AI Adoption Creates New Opportunities for Attackers to Distribute Malware

Attackers are exploiting organizations’ growing adoption of AI by disguising malware as legitimate AI tools and leveraging vulnerable AI-generated code, highlighting the need for stricter controls and awareness around AI use.

Business Leaders Lack Understanding of Threat Intelligence

Many business leaders lack understanding of threat intelligence and how to use it, creating a gap that can leave organizations more exposed to cyber risk unless communication between security teams and executives improves.

How to Get Boards to Prioritize Cyber Risk Quantification

Organizations can better secure board-level support for cybersecurity by translating cyber risk into clear financial terms through cyber risk quantification, making threats and investments easier for business leaders to understand and act on.

CyCOS Project Expands to Support UK SMEs as CIISec Takes Over

The CyCOS initiative is expanding to help UK SMEs tackle rising cyber threats. By giving them peer-led access to practical cybersecurity expertise, addressing the gap between awareness of risks and knowing how to respond.

This overview is just a snapshot of the discussions held at Infosecurity Europe 2026.

For more, check out the coverage by Infosecurity Magazine:

• Reactive Security Is Failing Healthcare, Experts Warn
• How DSIT Protects Thousands of UK Orgs from Cyber Vulnerabilities
• NCSC Urges Immediate Action to Boost Resilience as Uncertainty Persists
• Vulnerability Management Innovator Konvu Wins Cyber Startup Award
• Ukraine’s Experience Highlights the Need for Preparation and Resilience in Cybersecurity
• Mythos Outperforms GPT5.5 on Google Chrome Vulnerability Exploits, Says New Benchmark
• Why JLR’s CISO Enforced In-Person Password Resets Following Cyber-Attack
• How Proton Fights Against Cybercriminals Using Its Services

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