Top 12 Cybersecurity Issues

By George Mutune   Published: 01/11/25   Updated: 09/25/26   9 min read
Cybersecurity

Updated September 2026. We replaced the 2021-era list (remote-work attacks, fileless malware, Emotet) with the threat problems security teams actually face in 2026, backed by the FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report, Verizon’s 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report, IBM’s 2026 Cost of a Data Breach Report and government advisories.

This page is about specific threats: the techniques attackers use and the weaknesses they exploit. For the organizational side, such as budgets, skills, vendors and regulation, read our companion guide to the top cybersecurity challenges.

The 12 cybersecurity issues at a glance

IssueWhat it looks likeBest first defense
1. AI phishing and deepfakesCloned voices, fake video calls, flawless phishing emailsCallback and dual-approval rules
2. Ransomware and data extortionEncryption plus threats to leak stolen dataOffline backups, fast patching, MFA
3. Exploited edge devicesAttacks on VPNs, firewalls and gatewaysPatch KEV-listed flaws first
4. Infostealers and stolen credentialsLogins bought from malware logsMFA, session controls, device hygiene
5. MFA fatigue and MFA bypassPush bombing, code relays, fake login pagesPhishing-resistant MFA, number matching
6. Help desk and phone social engineeringCallers posing as employees or ITStrict identity checks for resets
7. Business email compromiseFake invoices and payment changesOut-of-band payment verification
8. Supply chain compromiseBreaches through vendors, SaaS and softwareVendor access limits, SBOMs, monitoring
9. Cloud and SaaS misconfigurationExposed data, accounts without MFAConfiguration baselines and posture checks
10. Shadow AI and data leakageSensitive data pasted into unapproved AI toolsApproved tools and data rules
11. Insider threats and fake IT workersMistakes, misuse, fraudulent remote hiresLeast privilege, identity-verified hiring
12. Attacks on critical infrastructure and OTRansomware and nation-state intrusions in industrial systemsSegmentation and OT-specific monitoring

1. AI-generated phishing and deepfake impersonation

Generative AI lets criminals write fluent phishing messages in any language and clone voices and faces. The FBI logged 22,364 complaints involving AI in 2025, with nearly $893 million in losses (FBI IC3). In May 2025, the FBI warned that criminals were sending AI-generated voice messages impersonating senior U.S. officials (FBI PSA). IBM found deepfake impersonation drove the largest share of AI-driven attacks in its 2026 study (IBM), and in 2024 an Arup employee sent about $25 million after a video call full of deepfaked colleagues (CNN).

Defense: assume voice and video can be faked. Verify payment and access requests through a known channel and require a second approver for large transfers. Our phishing case studies show how these attacks play out.

2. Ransomware and data-theft extortion

Ransomware appeared in 48% of breaches in Verizon’s 2026 report, up from 44%. The good news is that 69% of victims didn’t pay and the median payment fell to $139,875 (Verizon). Many groups now steal data first and threaten to leak it, so backups alone don’t end the extortion. The FBI’s most-reported variants in 2025 were Akira, Qilin, INC/Lynx/Sinobi, BianLian and Play. For how these groups operate as businesses, see how hackers make money.

3. Exploited vulnerabilities in edge devices

Exploiting vulnerabilities is now the top way attackers get in, at 31% of breaches in Verizon’s 2026 report, up from 20%. VPN appliances, firewalls and other internet-facing devices are favorite targets because they sit at the network edge and often lack endpoint security tools. Only 26% of the vulnerabilities on CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list were fully fixed across the organizations Verizon studied.

Defense: patch items on the KEV catalog first, remove management interfaces from the internet, and replace end-of-life devices.

4. Infostealer malware and stolen credentials

Infostealers are cheap malware that grab saved passwords, browser cookies and session tokens and sell them in bulk. In 2024, attackers used credentials stolen by infostealers to log in to Snowflake customer accounts that didn’t have MFA; Mandiant and Snowflake notified about 165 potentially exposed organizations (Google Mandiant). Verizon found that among ransomware victims with a prior credential or infostealer exposure, half had that exposure within 95 days before the attack.

Defense: require MFA on every cloud and SaaS account, keep work logins off unmanaged personal devices, and reset passwords and sessions when credentials appear in leaks. Our password best practices cover the basics.

5. MFA fatigue and MFA bypass

MFA stops most password attacks, so attackers target MFA itself. In “MFA fatigue” or push bombing, attackers send repeated login approval requests until the user taps Approve (CISA). That’s how Uber’s 2022 breach worked (Uber). Other attackers use fake login pages that relay one-time codes in real time, or talk users into reading codes over the phone, as in the 2023 Retool breach (Retool).

Defense: use phishing-resistant MFA (FIDO2 security keys or passkeys) where possible, turn on number matching for push apps, and alert on repeated MFA prompts. Our guide to multi-factor authentication compares the options.

6. Help desk and phone-based social engineering

Groups such as Scattered Spider call IT help desks posing as employees to get passwords and MFA reset, then move quickly to cloud and identity systems (CISA). In 2025, a group Google tracks as UNC6040 phoned employees while posing as IT support and talked them into approving a malicious Salesforce app, which the group then used to steal customer data (Google Threat Intelligence).

Defense: require strong identity verification before any reset (for example, a video check against an ID or manager approval), and restrict which connected apps users can authorize.

7. Business email compromise

BEC scams trick staff into wiring money or changing payment details by impersonating executives, suppliers or lawyers. Americans reported $3.05 billion in BEC losses to the FBI in 2025 across 24,768 complaints. The FBI’s Recovery Asset Team froze $679 million of $1.16 billion in attempted fraudulent transfers it worked on, which shows that fast reporting matters (FBI IC3).

Defense: confirm any new or changed bank details by phone using a number you already have, and report fraud to your bank and IC3 immediately.

8. Supply chain and third-party compromise

Attackers go after vendors, SaaS platforms and software components to reach many victims at once. Verizon found a third party involved in 48% of breaches in 2026, up from 30%. OWASP added “Software Supply Chain Failures” as the #3 risk in its 2025 Top 10 for web applications (OWASP). The Snowflake and Salesforce-targeting campaigns above both affected many companies through a shared platform.

Defense: limit and monitor vendor access, track the software components you depend on, and require vendors to use MFA and notify you quickly of incidents.

9. Cloud and SaaS misconfiguration

Cloud breaches usually come from customer-side mistakes such as accounts without MFA, overly broad permissions and exposed storage, not flaws in the cloud platform. Verizon found it took almost eight months for third parties to fix half of their weak-password and permission-misconfiguration findings in cloud accounts. IBM found breaches involving public cloud data averaged $5.38 million. For the basics, see our cloud security entry.

10. Shadow AI and data leakage

Employees paste code, contracts and customer data into AI tools the company hasn’t approved. IBM found security incidents involving shadow AI more than doubled to 43% of organizations in 2026, and about one in five of those incidents led to a regulatory fine. The WEF’s 2026 outlook found data leaks from generative AI are now a bigger concern for leaders than attackers’ AI capabilities (WEF).

11. Insider threats, including fake remote IT workers

Most insider incidents are mistakes, such as misdirected emails or misconfigured systems, but some are deliberate. The FBI has warned that North Korean IT workers who get hired remotely under false identities steal source code and data and then extort their employers (FBI PSA).

Defense: verify identity during hiring, give least-privilege access, and monitor for unusual data downloads and remote-access tools.

12. Attacks on critical infrastructure and operational technology

Hospitals, factories, utilities and transportation run on industrial and operational technology that is hard to patch and was often never designed to be connected. The FBI says the most-reported ransomware variants of 2025 hit critical manufacturing, healthcare and government facilities hardest. Nation-state actors also target these systems for espionage and potential disruption. Our guide to cyber attacks on critical infrastructure covers major incidents and defenses.

How to prioritize these issues

You can’t fix everything at once. The data points to a short list: phishing-resistant MFA and strong help desk checks (issues 1, 4, 5, 6), fast patching of exploited flaws (3), offline backups and incident response plans (2, 12), payment verification rules (7), and vendor and cloud configuration reviews (8, 9). Add an AI use policy (10) and least-privilege access (11).

New threats appear every week. The CyberExperts Daily Brief sends a short summary of the attacks, vulnerabilities and fixes that matter each weekday.

Frequently asked questions

What are the top cybersecurity issues in 2026?

AI-driven phishing and deepfakes, ransomware and data extortion, exploited edge devices, infostealers, MFA fatigue, help desk social engineering, business email compromise, supply chain attacks, cloud misconfiguration, shadow AI, insider threats and attacks on critical infrastructure.

What is the most common way attackers get in?

In Verizon’s 2026 report, exploiting vulnerabilities was the top initial access vector at 31% of breaches, followed by credential abuse. IBM found phishing was the most common initial vector in the breaches it studied. Both point to patching and strong authentication.

What is MFA fatigue?

It’s an attack where criminals who already have a password send repeated MFA push requests until the user approves one out of confusion or annoyance. Number matching and phishing-resistant MFA like security keys or passkeys defend against it.

Are deepfakes a real business threat?

Yes. The FBI logged over 22,000 AI-related complaints in 2025, IBM found deepfake impersonation was the most common AI-driven attack in its 2026 study, and Arup lost about $25 million to a deepfake video call in 2024.

How are cybersecurity issues different from cybersecurity challenges?

Issues are specific threats and weaknesses attackers exploit. Challenges are the organizational problems, like skills gaps, budgets, vendors and regulation, that make it hard to address those threats. See our cybersecurity challenges guide for that view.

What is shadow AI?

Shadow AI is employees’ use of AI tools the company hasn’t approved, often with sensitive data. IBM found security incidents involving shadow AI affected 43% of organizations in its 2026 report.

Sources

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George Mutune

I am a cyber security professional with a passion for delivering proactive strategies for day to day operational challenges. I am excited to be working with leading cyber security teams and professionals on projects that involve machine learning & AI solutions to solve the cyberspace menace and cut through inefficiency that plague today's business environments.