Global spending on cybersecurity was projected to soar to $213 billion in 2025, up from $193 billion in 2024, according to Gartner (Seceon, 2025). Forecasts show continued momentum with spending expected to reach $240 billion in the new year.
And, as we all head into the next year with our goals and priorities in mind, organisations should analyse these forecasts on the economics of cybersecurity in 2026. There are several emerging trends that are clearly shaping our industries, and thus, issuing our IT teams new challenges.
New technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and the Internet of Things, along with new adversary business models and organisational paradigms, are converging to escalate these challenges (Forbes, 2025).
As organisations face increasing uncertainty and rapid technological change, cybersecurity must remain a top investment priority. IT leaders should prepare for a rapidly changing world focused on AI-driven autonomy and exponential IT transformation. These kinds of trends are expected to redefine IT strategies to protect against increasingly sophisticated threats.
Overall, the economics of cybersecurity in 2026 will be influenced by the need to balance investments across people, processes, and technology. This includes addressing typical attack vectors and preparing for new challenges such as deepfakes and quantum computing.
In 2026, organisations are likely to invest significantly in AI to boost their cybersecurity capabilities. This investment is driven by the need to detect and respond to threats more effectively, as well as to manage risks associated with new technologies and digital transformation. Our sources suggest that IT departments are becoming more confident in their ability to handle cybersecurity challenges, with a notable increase in investment compared to previous years.
There is, however, the global fragmentation of digital trust that is increasingly becoming a factor (Icertglobal, 2025). As governments implement digital sovereignty legislation and data localisation requirements, the complexity of cross-border data security compliance multiplies. For global organisations, this necessitates a fundamental change in how data storage, access, and governance are managed: away from a uniform global approach to a highly granular, region-specific security posture. The cost of non-compliance and the risk of regulatory penalties will undoubtedly become a primary risk category for the C-suite.
The economic atmosphere in cybersecurity next year is now defined by the rapidly escalating costs of cybercrime itself, resulting in a significant surge in defensive spending, and a pivot in a security market driven by three main factors (Seceon, 2025):
Cyber threats continue to grow in complexity and scale, fuelled by emerging risks in cloud environments and AI-powered attacks. Securing AI workloads—in developmental, runtime, and testing phases—has become essential as more organisations adopt generative AI capabilities.
Spending on security software is rising sharply, with projections showing an increase from $95 billion in 2024 to $121 billion by 2026. As organisations progress through cloud adoption stages, they require security solutions tailored to protect cloud-native applications, provisions, and third-party integrations.
With a global shortage in cybersecurity talent, organisations are relying more on external support, including Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and managed detection services to fill critical gaps. Security services spending is expected to grow from $77 billion in 2024 to $92.7 billion in 2026.
One kind of response analysts have noted is the idea of creating more resilient supply chain sourcing (InfoTech, 2025). Organisations are moving from cost-driven global sourcing to diversified, resilient models amid tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and vendor dependency.
Leaders cite tariff-driven cost volatility, increasing regulatory complexity, and vendor price risk as the top disruptors, prompting a trend of diversification and the adoption of sovereign AI approaches. A 481% rise in the World Uncertainty Index since early 2025 underscores the volatility behind these changes, with 54% of IT departments expecting to increase spending in 2026 to modernise for agility and security.
For seasoned professionals, the need to navigate these future trends calls for clear and strategic playbooks focused on architectural shifts, not incremental fixes. The following represent some of the recommended moves for a defensible operation next year:
Ask yourself, and your team, a serious question: Is cybersecurity a deeply institutionalised part of leadership, culture, and strategy? As we move boldly into 2026, let’s strive to build a resilient, security-enabled enterprise that thrives in adversity, rather than simply surviving it.
For most businesses, the new year should compel them to see cybersecurity as a strategic pillar for the whole business, not simply an IT cost centre (Forbes, 2025). Executives need to make the CISO a strategic business partner. Factors like time-to-recover, adaptability, and incident containment should matter more than ever. Strive to embed ethical, legal, and operational alignment in your cybersecurity. Transpose the narrative from “prevent all attacks” to “manage risk, enable business” and cultivate a security-aware culture.
For ROCIMG, we find our firm with a unique perspective on the challenges around the talent needed to support new cybersecurity initiatives. From training to furnishing the cutting-edge human resources like Virtual Chief Information Security Officers (vCISOs), we can tailor the support needed by IT teams to effectively secure their institutions. As your partner, we will work together to explore the complexities of emerging technologies and their impact on your organisation.
We believe in listening to our clients and facilitating robust dialogue to learn the full picture of the project from multiple perspectives. We craft solutions that are tailored to our client’s needs, emphasizing a robust process that engages the correct stakeholders throughout the project so that once it’s complete, our clients can continue to manage it successfully.
Looking for more exclusive insights and articles? Sign-up for our newsletter to recieve updates and resources curated just for you.