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World Economic Forum Warns of Growing Threats to Digital Trust and Economic Stability
Artificial intelligence, geopolitical fragmentation and the rapid rise of cyber-enabled fraud are reshaping the global cybersecurity landscape at unprecedented speed, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, developed in collaboration with Accenture.
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This years’s report in the Global Cybersecurity Outlook series warns that cyber risks are no longer confined to IT departments but have become a strategic challenge affecting economic stability, national resilience and public trust. As digital systems become more interconnected, leaders are being urged to rethink cybersecurity as a core pillar of organisational and societal resilience.
Cyber-Enabled Fraud Emerges as a Dominant Global Threat
One of the report’s most striking findings is the scale of cyber-enabled fraud, now described as a pervasive global risk. In 2025 alone, 73 per cent of respondents said they were, or knew someone who was, directly affected by online fraud.
The surge has pushed fraud and phishing ahead of ransomware as the top cybersecurity concern for CEOs, highlighting the growing human and economic toll of digital crime across sectors and regions.
Jeremy Jurgens, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, said the implications are profound:
“As cyber risks become more interconnected and consequential, cyber-enabled fraud has emerged as one of the most disruptive forces in the digital economy, undermining trust, distorting markets and directly affecting people’s lives.
The challenge for leaders is no longer just understanding the threat but acting collectively to stay ahead of it.”
AI Is Transforming Both Cyber Attacks and Defences
The report finds that artificial intelligence is now the most powerful force shaping cybersecurity. In 2025, AI-related vulnerabilities rose faster than any other risk category, with 87 per cent of organisations reporting an increase.
Key concerns for 2026 include:
- Data leaks linked to generative AI (34%)
- More sophisticated adversarial capabilities (29%)
At the same time, 94 per cent of leaders expect AI to have the greatest impact on cybersecurity in the year ahead. In response, organisations are rapidly stepping up efforts to assess AI-related security risks, with the share doing so rising from 37 per cent to 64 per cent in just one year.
Geopolitics Is Redrawing the Cyber Threat Map
Geopolitical tensions are increasingly shaping cybersecurity strategies worldwide. The report shows that:
- 64 per cent of organisations now factor geopolitically motivated cyberattacks into their risk planning.
- 91 per cent of large enterprises have already adjusted their cybersecurity posture in response.
However, confidence in national preparedness varies sharply. While 84 per cent of respondents in the Middle East and North Africa expressed confidence in their country’s ability to manage major cyber incidents, that figure drops to just 13 per cent in Latin America and the Caribbean—highlighting widening gaps in global cyber resilience.
Supply Chains and Third Parties Become Systemic Weak Points
As global supply chains grow more interconnected and opaque, third-party dependencies are emerging as major sources of systemic risk.
Among large companies:
- 65 per cent now cite supply chain and third-party exposure as their biggest barrier to cyber resilience—up from 54 per cent last year.
- Concentration risk is intensifying, with outages at major cloud and internet service providers showing how infrastructure-level failures can trigger cascading disruptions across entire digital ecosystems.
Cyber Inequality Widens Across Regions and Sectors
The report also highlights a deepening cyber resilience gap between large and small organisations, and between developed and emerging economies.
Smaller organisations are twice as likely as large firms to report inadequate cyber resilience. Regionally, the shortage of cybersecurity skills is most acute in:
- Latin America and the Caribbean, where 65 per cent of organisations lack sufficient talent.
- Sub-Saharan Africa, where 63 per cent face similar constraints.
These inequalities, the report warns, are leaving smaller businesses and emerging markets disproportionately exposed to escalating cyber threats.
From Cyber Protection to AI-Driven Cyber Defence
Accenture’s Global Lead for Cybersecurity, Paolo Dal Cin, said traditional approaches are no longer enough.
“The weaponisation of AI, persistent geopolitical friction and systemic supply chain risks are upending traditional cyber defences.
For C-suite leaders, the imperative is clear: they must pivot from cyber protection to cyber defence powered by advanced and agentic AI to stay resilient against AI-driven threat actors.”
He added that true resilience now depends on integrating cyber strategy with business continuity and trust, enabling organisations to adapt quickly to an increasingly volatile threat environment.
Governments Urged to Take a Collaborative, Forward-Looking Approach
Singapore’s Minister for Digital Development and Information and Minister-in-Charge of Cybersecurity & Smart Nation Group, Josephine Teo, stressed the dual nature of AI in cybersecurity.
“When deployed responsibly, AI can strengthen cyber defences through faster detection and response. But if misused or poorly governed, it can also introduce serious risks—from data leaks to cyberattacks.
Governments therefore need a forward-looking and collaborative approach to ensure AI enhances cyber resilience while minimising risks that increasingly transcend borders.”
Call for Collective Action to Build Global Cyber Resilience
The World Economic Forum is urging leaders across governments, businesses and technology providers to move beyond fragmented efforts and raise the global baseline of cyber resilience.
Key recommendations include:
- Sharing threat intelligence across sectors and borders
- Aligning cybersecurity standards internationally
- Investing in skills, tools and capabilities to ensure organisations of all sizes can benefit from a safer digital ecosystem
The findings are based on a global survey of 804 business leaders in 92 countries, including 105 CEOs, 316 chief information security officers and more than 120 other C-suite executives.
