Chief information security officers enter 2026 confronting an AI-fueled escalation of threats that demands a pivot from mere defense to enduring recovery. Carl Windsor, Fortinet’s CISO, warns that artificial intelligence will amplify both innovation and vulnerabilities, with breaches targeting large language models surging in scale as these systems ingest sensitive data and enable unsecured agent communications. “There have already been multiple breaches of AI LLMs. 2026 will see this increase in both volume and severity,” Windsor states in an Intelligent CISO interview.

Generative AI’s democratization of technology empowers every department to boost efficiency and decision-making, yet it introduces opacity in models that hampers accountability and compliance. Vulnerabilities like adversarial attacks, data poisoning, prompt injection, and weak non-human identities in agentic systems loom large. Windsor predicts deepfake services will supercharge business email compromise and social engineering, with organizations facing waves of AI-generated audio and video in phishing assaults.

AI as Double-Edged Sword

Fortinet’s broader CISO Collective report echoes these concerns, forecasting attacks on multinational giants fueled by AI reconnaissance, cybercrime-as-a-service proliferation, and nation-state operations. “AI is fundamentally transforming almost every business – not just by automating tasks but by changing how decisions are made, how value is created and how companies compete,” Windsor notes. Meanwhile, a Fortinet analysis highlights rapid AI adoption across functions, geopolitical strains, regulatory squeezes, and industrialized cybercrime as forces reshaping security mandates.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 reveals 72% of organizations saw cyber risk rise last year, a trend AI will intensify with machine-speed decisions evading traditional controls. Southeast Asia CISOs, per CSO Online, prioritize hardening cloud/AI infrastructure, identity as the perimeter, and resilience as a core capability amid blurring IT-OT lines and AI-crafted impersonations bypassing multifactor authentication.

Boardroom Imperative Takes Hold

CISOs must now articulate AI’s benefits and perils to executives, as 49% of IT leaders report boards remain blind to these risks, according to Fortinet’s 2025 Cybersecurity Skills Gap Report. “More than ever the CISO’s place in the boardroom is critical. CISOs must communicate the benefits of new technologies like AI along with their associated business risks,” Windsor emphasizes. Boards will demand financial translations of security exposures, per Google Cloud’s 2026 forecast.

Skills shortages persist, with breaches tied to awareness gaps (56%) and training deficits (54%). Fortinet targets training one million in cybersecurity by year-end. AI fluency emerges as essential, especially as it supplants entry-level roles, thrusting digital-native Gen Z and incoming Gen Alpha into evolved positions. “AI fluency will become a baseline skill,” Windsor predicts.

Quantum Shadows Lengthen

Quantum computing poses no instant peril but fuels “harvest now, decrypt later” strategies threatening current cryptography. Windsor urges immediate quantum readiness in procurement: “Don’t wait. Start adding quantum readiness to procurement processes now.” This aligns with Presidio’s 2026 predictions, anticipating quantum-safe shifts in finance and boards prioritizing governance amid regulatory demands like the EU’s Cyber Resilience Act.

The CISO role morphs into chief resilience officer, prioritizing business continuity via minimum viable business definitions, segmentation, recovery testing, and tabletop drills. “The CISO title belies the fact that the role is not purely security focused. CISOs enable business transformation and innovation while ensuring this happens safely,” Windsor asserts. Google Cloud researchers foresee shadow AI evolving into shadow agents by 2026, per their Cybersecurity Forecast.

Resilience Blueprint Emerges

Windsor’s roadmap insists on resilience-first strategies: assume disruption, govern AI rigorously, secure identities for humans and machines, foster cross-silo collaboration, and commit to perpetual adaptation. “Build resilience first. Assume disruption is inevitable and invest in business continuity segmentation and recovery readiness,” he advises. TechNewsWorld experts predict zero-day exploits exploding via AI-accelerated research, while CSO Online lists AI rise, resiliency, third-party risks, and geopolitics atop CISO agendas.

Dark Reading panels foresee executive accountability surging with AI governance mandates, boards elevating cyber risk to tier-one status. “CISOs are looking at how they can recover from operational events, not just cyber events,” notes CDW’s Aaron McCray. Intelligent CISO’s 2026 outlook calls for splitting CISO duties into strategic and operational tracks amid automated attacks and supply chain strains.

Global Echoes and Industry Shifts

CISO Global anticipates AI scaling threat operations, with zero-days proliferating. Solutions Review compiles over 140 predictions stressing peer networks and burnout prevention for CISOs. SecurityWeek leaders prioritize supply chain choke points and AI governance over hype. On X, experts like @Khulood_Almani highlight autonomous defenses, quantum risks, and regulatory waves like NIS2 and DORA, underscoring predictive security’s rise.