Why Identity and Data Visibility Will Define Cybersecurity in 2026

A newly published report on the state of cybersecurity in 2026 highlights how cloud growth, AI adoption, and increasingly complex digital environments are reshaping core security practices. As businesses manage more identities, devices, and internet-facing systems, the focus is shifting from one-off defences toward continuous visibility and the ability to respond to risk across entire environments.

The report points to identity management as one of the most critical security boundaries today. With remote work, automation, and AI agents increasing the number of human and non-human identities needing access, organisations are being urged to adopt continuous governance and least-privilege access controls. Using too many disconnected security tools was flagged as a risk in itself, since it can create gaps that attackers exploit.

The report also notes that security teams are collecting more data (telemetry) than ever, but simply gathering more information doesn't improve visibility. Instead, the ability to route, structure, and reuse data effectively is becoming more important, especially as AI tools create new demands for data quality. Endpoint security is following a similar trend, with businesses needing to close the gap between spotting a weakness and fixing it through continuous patching and automated remediation across different operating systems.