Cybersecurity in 2026: A Strategic Road Map for U.S. Businesses

Author

Taylor Hawes
October 03, 2025

⚡ Weekend Threat Brief

Cybersecurity in 2026: A Strategic Road Map for U.S. Businesses

Forvis Mazars outlines what firms should prepare for in 2026 — from regulatory pressures to evolving attack tactics. 

Key points

  • A shift toward proactive threat modeling instead of reactive fixes

  • Integrating cybersecurity into broader business strategy and governance

  • The rising role of AI-driven security controls and compliance systems

  • Emphasis on cross-border risk, supply chain, and third-party exposure.

Takeaway

Start aligning your 2026 plans now — embed security into your roadmap, not as an afterthought.

🎯 Tactical Playbook

MokN: Using Deception to Trap Attackers with Their Own Stolen Credentials

French startup MokN just raised €2.6M to bring its “phish-back” (decoy) approach to the U.S. market.

  • MokN deploys fake login pages inside enterprise networks. When an attacker (using stolen credentials) tries them, the system flags it.

  • The key shift: don’t just block, but lure attackers so you detect breaches earlier.

  • Early adopters include 20+ enterprises; MokN claims over €1M ARR within a year.

Tactical tip: Consider adding deception tools (honeypots, decoy portals) as an early detection layer, especially for identity-based threats. 

🛡️ Research Watch

AI, Compliance, and a New Era of Cybersecurity

Security Magazine explores how AI is reshaping regulatory expectations and security controls. 

  • AI isn’t just a threat vector — it's becoming central to compliance tooling and audit processes

  • Future regulators may expect explainability, model risk assessments, overt AI governance

  • Organizations must blend AI enablement with guardrails, transparency, and accountability

In short, you can’t treat AI as optional. It’s now entwined with both business operations and regulatory posture.

🧩 Tool Tip of the Week

ManageEngine DataSecurity Plus & Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)

In our DPI tool guide, ManageEngine DataSecurity Plus stands out for inspecting both headers and payloads of network traffic, enforcing content controls and policy rules. 

Why it’s useful:

  • It can block risky sites, stop unauthorized Web traffic, and spot data exfiltration attempts. 

  • Works in encrypted environments (via HTTPS inspection) to catch hidden threats.. 

🗣️ Community Signal

If you want to use AI safely, that’s the only way you can use it. I see a lot of opportunities, also for compliance. For example, in our contact center, staff have to make notes after a customer call, but they’re under time pressure. The notes often fall short, so when a customer calls back, details are missing and you can’t spot trends. Now AI listens in and staff only validate the conversation. It helps us serve customers better, more efficiently, and remain compliant. Vanessa van der Does, Chief Compliance Officer at NN Group

🔗 Your Take - The Results

 🔗 Stay Connected

Until next edition!