The threats businesses face in 2026 look familiar on the surface (ransomware, phishing, supply-chain attacks), but attackers have become faster, more automated and increasingly AI-assisted. Based on the latest industry reports, including the Verizon 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) and the ENISA Threat Landscape, here are the five threats every business should plan for this year.
1. Exploitation of Unpatched Systems
For the first time in the DBIR’s history, exploiting vulnerabilities has overtaken stolen credentials as the most common way attackers get in. At the same time, organisations are patching more slowly: only 26% of actively exploited vulnerabilities were fully fixed, and the median time to fix rose to 43 days. Internet-facing devices such as VPN gateways, firewalls and remote-access portals are frequent targets.
Protective Action:
Keep an up-to-date inventory of everything exposed to the internet, patch critical vulnerabilities within days rather than weeks, automate updates where possible, and never expose admin interfaces directly to the internet.
2. Ransomware and Extortion
Ransomware was present in 48% of all breaches in the 2026 DBIR, up from 44% a year earlier, and ENISA describes it as the most disruptive and damaging threat in the EU. The good news is that 69% of victims refused to pay, which is only possible when recovery works without the attackers’ help.
Protective Action:
Maintain immutable or offline backups, test restores regularly, deploy endpoint detection and response (EDR), segment your network, and have a written incident response plan that people have actually rehearsed.
3. AI-Powered Phishing and Social Engineering
Phishing remains the main way into organisations in Europe, behind 60% of intrusions in ENISA’s latest report, and AI now supports the large majority of these campaigns. Messages are well written, personalised and convincing. Attackers increasingly use phone calls and text messages, which the DBIR found to be more successful than email, as well as deepfake voices impersonating managers.
Protective Action:
Move to phishing-resistant MFA (passkeys or FIDO2 security keys), require a call-back on a known number before any payment or bank-detail change, and refresh security awareness training with current examples, including voice, SMS and QR-code lures.
4. Third-Party and Supply-Chain Breaches
Breaches involving a third party grew by 60% and now account for nearly half of all cases in the DBIR. Your IT provider, software vendors and SaaS platforms often hold privileged access to your systems and data.
Protective Action:
Maintain a list of suppliers with access to your systems, require MFA and least-privilege access from each of them, review that access at least quarterly, and include security requirements in contracts.
5. Leaked Credentials and Shadow AI
Infostealer malware quietly harvests passwords and session cookies that are later used by ransomware gangs. Half of the ransomware victims whose credentials had previously leaked were attacked within 95 days. At the same time, employees pasting company data into unapproved AI tools (“shadow AI”) has quadrupled and is now among the most common internal data-leak risks.
Protective Action:
Use a company password manager, monitor for leaked credentials, enforce conditional access, and give staff approved AI tools together with a clear policy on what data may be shared with them.
In Bulgaria, the amended Cybersecurity Act implementing the EU NIS2 Directive (published on 13 February 2026) raises the bar further for medium and large companies in 18 sectors, with a 24-hour early warning for significant incidents and personal responsibility for management. Even companies outside its scope are increasingly asked by their customers to meet the same standards.
IT Engineering helps businesses assess their exposure, close the most important gaps and prepare for NIS2. Contact us for a security review.
Sources: Verizon 2026 DBIR (Help Net Security summary); ENISA Threat Landscape 2025 (Security Affairs); CMS: Bulgaria adopts NIS2-aligned cybersecurity law.
