Identity, AI risks dominate 2026 threat landscape

Artificial intelligence has become the leading data security concern for organizations, with 70% ranking it as their top threat, according to the 2026 Thales Data Threat Report, IT Brief Australia reports.

The research, conducted by S&P Global 451 Research, indicates that AI tools now have broad access to enterprise data, shifting security focus from hostile AI to what organizations allow these systems to access. Sebastien Cano, Thales' Senior VP of Cybersecurity Products, noted that "insider risk is no longer just about people," but also about "automated systems that have been trusted too quickly."

The report reveals critical visibility gaps, with only 34% of organizations knowing where all their data resides and 39% able to fully classify it. Nearly half (47%) of sensitive cloud data remains unencrypted. Identity infrastructure is increasingly targeted, with credential theft affecting 67% of organizations that experienced cloud attacks.

Machine identity governance is complex, with half ranking secrets management among top challenges. Nearly 60% have experienced deepfake-driven incidents, and 48% reported reputational damage from AI-generated misinformation. Despite these risks, only 30% allocate dedicated AI security budgets, leaving many relying on legacy human-centric controls as automation scales.