Ransomware remains a serious threat for businesses, and paying attackers does not guarantee data recovery. A survey of thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises found that 40% of those who paid a ransom still lost some or all of their data.

Nearly a third of businesses reported being attacked in the past year, and 80% of victims paid a ransom in hopes of retrieving critical information, but only 60% succeeded.

Technical challenges make recovery difficult. Some ransomware groups use flawed encryption or disappear after payment, and decryptor tools can be slow, buggy, or corrupt files. Backup systems may also be compromised, adding to the difficulty.

Modern attacks often involve double or triple extortion, meaning threats continue even after a payment, leaving organizations exposed to operational, legal, and reputational risks.

Financial and legal planning is essential. Companies may need access to loans or insurance claims to cover recovery costs, and legal obligations to notify regulators and affected individuals arise immediately if personal data is impacted.

Experts recommend having well-tested recovery plans, incident response retainers, and cyber insurance to mitigate damage. Strong baseline security measures, like multi-factor authentication, patch management, and verified backups, are critical for improving resilience and ensuring organizations are prepared for ransomware incidents.

Effective preparation and planning, rather than paying ransoms, remain the best defense for organizations facing ransomware threats.

Cybersecurity is moving beyond simple compliance to become a strategic business asset.

Boards are starting to see cyber resilience as a driver of trust, growth, and competitive advantage. Forward-thinking organizations treat cybersecurity as more than a cost, using it to protect critical assets, support business goals, and enhance brand reputation.

Smart cyber programs can turn risk management into a value proposition, appealing to digitally-savvy customers and creating opportunities to differentiate in the market.

A strong cybersecurity program focuses on clear risk ownership, measurable and repeatable controls, and the ability to recover and adapt quickly.

Boards should assess readiness through governance, culture, and practical exercises rather than just technical metrics. Effective communication from CISOs translates technical details into business impact, building trust through consistency, transparency, and human interaction.

With emerging technologies like AI, boards must balance opportunity and risk, treating cyber risk as a core business concern reviewed regularly and championed by accountable leaders to ensure resilience, trust, and sustainable growth.

AI is changing fast — and it’s not just about making things smarter or faster. It’s about building the right “guardrails” so that business, cyber‑teams and leaders feel confident in rolling it out.

Why guardrails matter
Half of organizations say they’ve been hit by cyber‑issues linked to AI tools. These kinds of risks include model theft, data poisoning and prompt‑injection.

That means cyber‑teams need to flip from just blocking threats to managing and enabling safe change.

Businesses can’t slow down AI — they must build controls that let them move confidently.

What good guardrails look like
• Clear rules and roles: Who owns risk, who sets limits, and who responds if something goes wrong.
• Built‑in security: Controls should be part of the AI launch‑plan from day one — not an afterthought.
• Adapt and scale: As AI spreads across teams, the guardrails must flex too. Cyber‑teams must help the business adopt safe AI, not just protect it.

At the end of the day, cyber cannot be just the brake on innovation. With the right guardrails, it becomes the driver for smarter, safer business value.

Nearly six in ten tech‑and‑security professionals say AI‑driven cyber threats and deepfakes are what will keep them up at night in 2026.

Low Readiness for AI Risks

Only about one in eight feel their organization is very ready to handle risks tied to generative AI. Most feel only somewhat or not prepared at all.

Other Top Worries

Key concerns also include failure to detect or respond to a breach, insider and human‑error threats, and supply‑chain risks.

Priorities vs. Confidence Gap

High priorities for the year ahead: regulatory compliance, business continuity, and managing AI‑related risk. But confidence is low. Less than half say they’re very sure their organization could handle a ransomware attack.

Tech Trends for 2026

Top technology trends include generative AI and large‑language models, AI/machine learning, cloud security, and data privacy and sovereignty.

Actions for the Year Ahead

Five suggested actions emerged: set up strong AI governance, speed up talent training, modernize legacy systems, strengthen business continuity planning, and prepare for regulatory complexity.

Cyber Strategy Moves to the Forefront

With fast‑moving tech and evolving threats, organizations can no longer treat cyber as just an IT matter — it must be part of strategy, risk, and resilience.

Data Sovereignty in Focus

Global data laws are changing fast, forcing companies to rethink how they store and control information. “Project Texas” is one example of a system that keeps sensitive U.S. user data local, controls access under U.S. law and provides independent oversight.

Success now depends less on promises and more on proving that data stays secure and auditable.

Turning Promises into Proof

Security leaders are moving from slogans to evidence. Executives face challenges interpreting data sovereignty rules across regions, so verifiable controls are critical.

Key strategies include zero-trust access, in-region encryption keys, immutable audit trails, continuous control validation, and third-party attestation.

These measures show regulators and customers that sensitive data is handled correctly and safely.

Blueprint for Action

A 90-day approach can guide implementation: first inventory sensitive data and enable logging, then front stores with policy brokers and localize keys, integrate controls into CI/CD pipelines, and finally operationalize continuous validation.

Looking ahead, AI tools can automatically verify controls, bundle evidence, and produce audit-ready reports.

The Bottom Line

Data sovereignty is not just about compliance statements. Measurable, verifiable controls create real trust.

Brokered access, local keys, immutable logs, and continuous validation turn promises into proof that data is secure and managed responsibly.

Massive Database Exposure

EY accidentally left a 4TB SQL Server backup exposed to the public internet. The database contained sensitive information such as API keys, authentication tokens, service account passwords, and user credentials.

How It Happened

The exposure was caused by a misconfigured cloud storage bucket. Mistakes like this are common when companies export databases for migration or backups.

Even a brief window of public access can allow automated scanners or attackers to capture sensitive data.

Discovery and Response

A cybersecurity researcher discovered the unencrypted file and alerted EY.

The company responded quickly, fixing the configuration issue within a week and containing the exposure.

Lessons for Organizations

This incident shows how easy it is to accidentally put critical data at risk in the cloud.

Companies must enforce proper configuration, maintain continuous monitoring, and have a rapid incident response plan to prevent and address similar exposures.

The bottom line: Cloud convenience comes with risk, and vigilance is essential to keep sensitive data safe.