AI, Cyber Risk, and Post-Quantum Readiness in 2026: What Mid-Market Firms Must Prepare For Now
Status: Preview | Full Report Forthcoming
Status: Preview | Full Report Forthcoming
By 2026, artificial intelligence will no longer be an experimental add-on for businesses, it will be embedded directly into decision-making, operations, finance, and risk management. At the same time, the threat landscape surrounding these systems is evolving faster than most mid-market firms can reasonably track. The convergence of AI adoption, increasingly sophisticated cyber threats, and the approaching post-quantum transition is creating a new class of operational risk that many organizations are not yet equipped to manage.
This upcoming report will examine how Q1 2026 is likely to mark an inflection point for cybersecurity and technology governance, particularly for firms that sit between small businesses and large enterprises. While large corporations can afford dedicated security teams and custom infrastructure, mid-market firms are rapidly digitizing without parallel investment in security architecture, verification, or long-term cryptographic planning. This imbalance is already making them the preferred target for ransomware, supply-chain compromise, and financial manipulation.
The full report will focus on three interrelated themes. First, how AI systems—especially those tied to forecasting, pricing, procurement, and automation—expand the attack surface by concentrating decision authority into opaque models and data pipelines. Second, how cyber threats are shifting away from purely technical exploits toward operational disruption, credential compromise, and manipulation of automated systems. Third, how the gradual but inevitable move toward post-quantum cryptography introduces strategic planning challenges today, even before large-scale quantum capabilities arrive.
Rather than treating AI security, cyber defense, and cryptographic readiness as separate initiatives, this series will frame them as parts of a single problem: the need to secure intelligent systems whose outputs increasingly drive real-world decisions. The Q1 2026 AI & Cyber Risk Outlook will outline where firms are most exposed, which risks are misunderstood or underestimated, and how organizations can begin building resilience without over-engineering their technology stack.
The complete report will provide practical frameworks for evaluating AI deployment risk, strengthening cyber resilience, and planning for cryptographic transition in a way that aligns with business realities rather than theoretical timelines.
This report will be published as part of the 2026 Outlook Series, offering mid-market leaders a clearer view of what lies ahead—and what preparation actually looks like in practice.
Full report coming soon.