As we move deeper into 2026, the cybersecurity landscape continues to evolve at a rapid pace. From the fundamental shift in how we approach identity management to the consolidation wars reshaping the vendor market, these trends will define how organisations protect their digital assets this year. Here's what you need to know.
Moving Beyond Basic Authentication
Identity is no longer just about enabling multi-factor authentication and calling it a day. In 2026, identity has evolved into the primary access control mechanism for all cybersecurity functions. It's the hinge upon which your entire security posture swings.
The days of treating identity as a checkbox exercise with Entra and MFA are over. Modern organisations are recognising that identity is the fundamental layer that connects users, applications, and data. Every access decision, every security policy, and every compliance requirement flows through identity.
Context-Aware Identity: Understanding Behaviour Patterns
The sophistication of identity platforms is reaching new heights. Context-aware identity systems are becoming more integrated, leveraging AI to scrape underlying logs and develop comprehensive patterns of user behaviour. We're all creatures of habit, and these systems are learning to recognise when our digital behaviour deviates from the norm.
This behavioural analysis moves beyond simple anomaly detection. By understanding the context in which access occurs: time of day, location, device, typical workflows - security teams can make more informed decisions about granting or denying access without creating friction for legitimate users.
Identity for Everything: Humans and Non-Humans Alike
Perhaps the most significant shift in 2026 is the extension of identity beyond human users. Leading identity platforms are already treating AI agents like users because, fundamentally, they behave like them. But this assignation of identity needs to become ubiquitous across all entities.
If something touches your data, whether it's a human, an AI agent, an API, or any other non-human entity, you should know exactly who or what it is and understand the context in which it's accessing that data. This comprehensive approach to identity is no longer optional; it's essential for maintaining security and compliance in increasingly complex digital environments.
The Acquisition Feeding Frenzy
The cybersecurity vendor landscape in 2026 resembles a game of corporate acquisition Hungry Hippos. Not a day passes without one of the major cybersecurity companies acquiring an AI startup or a smaller company with a specific feature set to augment their platform.
This consolidation trend shows no signs of slowing through 2026 and will likely continue until 2030, or at least until the AI bubble bursts. The driving force? Every vendor is trying to become the same thing: a comprehensive security platform.
The Battle for Visibility and Control
We've returned to an old battleground with a familiar equation: Visibility = Control.
This concept isn't new. Those who remember the hypervisor wars between VMware and Microsoft will recognise this pattern. Back then, the real battle wasn't just about virtualisation, it was about vROPs versus Microsoft Systems Center and their associated product suites competing for infrastructure operations visibility, particularly in the mid-enterprise market.
Today, we're seeing the same dynamic play out in cybersecurity, especially among cloud security players. The logic is simple and powerful:
- The more I see, the more I can tell you
- The more I can tell you, the more control I can give you
- The more control I give you (and automate), the stronger my platform consolidation story becomes
- The stickier I become as a vendor
Different vendors are taking different approaches, but the end goal remains constant: comprehensive visibility leading to comprehensive control.
Security as a Business Process
There's a new major player preparing to shake up the cybersecurity market: ServiceNow. I called this two years ago, while I was at Zscaler... The whiteboard where I suggested that cybersecurity could become a “Business Process” and creating an end-to-end policy that protects the business process, ServiceNow is making their move, and they've already started their acquisition spree.
The concept is compelling: what if cybersecurity could simply become a business process?
Instead of securing users, applications, and devices with a series of policies across multiple platforms and attempting to stitch them together afterwards, you could integrate security directly into your business processes. Your platforms already integrate with ServiceNow for workflow automation. Why not extend that integration to have security policies that match and follow your business processes?
This approach could revolutionise how organisations think about security, not as a separate layer to be bolted on, but as an inherent part of how business gets done.
Fewer Planes, Better Security
On a more practical level, the consolidation of control planes in cybersecurity continues to accelerate. We've witnessed this trend over the past five years with the rise of security platforms, but now those platforms themselves are beginning to consolidate.
The benefits of this consolidation are substantial. If organisations can truly consolidate traffic to flow through a single control plane, they only need to manage a single policy set. This means fewer security gaps, less operational overhead, and reduced management complexity.
The Importance of Integration
When control planes can communicate effectively with each other, the benefits multiply. However, it's important to note that despite vendor claims of being the only platform you'll ever need, that's simply not accurate. Separation of remit remains vital, serving as a breakwater against total system failure or compromise.
The goal isn't to have a single vendor controlling everything, but rather to have fewer, well-integrated control planes that can work together effectively while maintaining appropriate separation of concerns.
These trends point to several key priorities for 2026:
Evolve Your Identity Management: If you haven't already, it's time to move identity from a compliance checkbox to the cornerstone of your security strategy. Evaluate how identity can become your primary access control mechanism across all systems and data.
Prepare for Platform Consolidation: The vendor landscape is consolidating rapidly. Consider how this affects your existing vendor relationships and whether consolidation opportunities could reduce complexity in your environment.
Think Process, Not Just Tools: Explore how security can be integrated into business processes rather than layered on top of them. This may require new approaches to vendor selection and integration.
Focus on Interoperability: As you consolidate control planes, ensure they can communicate effectively. Don't fall into the trap of vendor lock-in that promises simplicity but delivers dependency.
2026 represents a pivotal moment in cybersecurity evolution. Identity is finally receiving the strategic attention it deserves, the vendor market is reshaping itself through aggressive consolidation, and new players are bringing fresh perspectives to age-old challenges.
Organisations that recognise and adapt to these trends, treating identity as foundational, making strategic vendor choices, and integrating security into business processes, will be better positioned to protect their assets in an increasingly complex threat landscape.
The question isn't whether these trends will impact your organisation, but how quickly you'll adapt to them.
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Want to discuss how these trends affect your specific cybersecurity strategy? Get in touch with the team at Principle Networks to explore how we can help you navigate the evolving security landscape.
