Global executive leaders all agree on one point: 2026 is the year cyber risk becomes more interconnected and more business‑critical. Heightened geopolitical tensions, accelerating digital transformation, and expanding third‑party ecosystems are converging to create a risk environment where a single cyber incident can quickly cascade across supply chains, markets, and regions. To better understand how this shift is playing out at the highest levels of leadership, the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026 surveyed 100 CEOs across industries and regions. Below are four key data points from that research that illustrate how CEOs are recalibrating their priorities and investments to increase resilience in today's interconnected cyber risk landscape.
78% of CEOs at highly resilient organizations say third‑party & supply‑chain dependencies are the #1 challenge.
Even the most mature enterprises are only as strong as the weakest link in their ecosystem. Supply chain exposure is now the defining resilience constraint as a single compromised vendor can trigger widespread operational, regulatory, and reputational impact. Traditional third‑party risk frameworks, built around periodic assessments and questionnaires, simply cannot keep pace with the velocity of change in modern digital supply chains.
How to Respond:
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Shift to continuous TPRM. Move beyond point‑in‑time reviews to ongoing monitoring and high‑fidelity risk ratings fr critical vendors.
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Embed security in procurement and assess supplier maturity as a standard.
94% of CEOs agreed that AI will drive the biggest change in cybersecurity.
94% of CEOs agreed that AI will drive the biggest change in cybersecurity, while 87% also agree that AI‑related vulnerabilities are an increasing risk. This reflects a clear recognition that AI is reshaping both the threat landscape and the defense playbook at the same time. The organizations that will stay ahead are those that deliberately architect AI into their security programs, from detection and response to third‑party risk and privacy, instead of layering it on as an afterthought.
How to Respond:
- Prioritize AI‑native, cloud‑based tooling for detection/response to operate at machine speed against AI‑enabled threats.
- Standardize AI‑security reviews and monitoring for all AI tools for enhanced governance and control.
77% of CEOs saw increases in cyber‑enabled fraud/phishing.
Fraud is not an abstract risk, we all know someone who has been impacted by fraud or phishing - and so have the CEOs. 73% of surveyed CEOs report they or someone in their network was personally affected. The most common attack types include phishing, payment fraud, and identity theft. These schemes are increasingly sophisticated, often blending social engineering, compromised third parties, and real‑time payment redirection to bypass traditional controls. The impact extends far beyond revenue loss, eroding customer trust, damaging brand reputation, and affecting employees.
How to Respond:
- Continuously train and test using targeted simulations, measuring time‑to‑detect and time‑to‑respond to pressure‑test your strategy and your teams.
The Bottom Line
Resilience in 2026 means always‑on visibility, AI‑native defenses, and ecosystem‑level risk management, not one‑off audits. Mastercard Cybersecurity brings AI‑native, cloud‑delivered solutions for third‑party risk, privacy, and beyond, built to help organizations detect faster, reduce exposure, and operate with confidence.
Take the next step to strengthen your organization’s cyber resilience. See how our solutions help organizations stay ahead of emerging threats.
