Executive Summary

Check Point Software Technologies has released its 2026 Cyber Security Report, painting a stark picture of a rapidly escalating threat landscape. The report indicates that global cyberattacks have surged by 70% since 2023, with the average organization facing 1,968 attacks per week in 2025. The primary catalyst for this growth is the weaponization of Artificial Intelligence (AI) by threat actors. AI is being integrated across the entire attack lifecycle, from creating more convincing phishing lures to automating reconnaissance and accelerating malware creation. The report also identifies key trends in the ransomware ecosystem, including a move towards smaller, decentralized groups and data-only extortion, as well as an increased focus on exploiting unmonitored edge devices as initial access points.

Report Highlights

The 14th annual report from Check Point Research provides a comprehensive analysis of the cyber threat landscape based on data from 2025. Key findings include:

AI as a Threat Accelerator

• Force Multiplier: AI is no longer a theoretical threat but a practical tool used by attackers to increase the scale, speed, and sophistication of their operations.
• Enhanced Social Engineering: Generative AI is used to create flawless, highly convincing phishing emails and pretexting scripts, significantly increasing their success rate.
• Risky Usage: The report found that 89% of organizations experienced employees using AI applications in ways that could pose a security risk, with 1 in 41 prompts being classified as high-risk, potentially leaking sensitive data.

Evolving Ransomware Landscape

• Fragmentation: The era of dominant, monolithic ransomware brands is giving way to a more fragmented ecosystem of smaller, agile Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) groups. The number of new RaaS groups rose by 50%.
• Data-Only Extortion: A growing number of attacks involve stealing data and threatening to leak it without ever encrypting the victim's files. This tactic bypasses recovery-from-backup strategies and puts immense pressure on victims to pay.
• AI in Ransomware: Attackers are using AI to streamline target selection, automate parts of the negotiation process, and even generate custom malware variants.

Expanding Attack Surface

• Edge Devices Under Siege: The report highlights a significant increase in attacks targeting the network edge. Unpatched VPN appliances, routers, and IoT devices are frequently used as initial access points into corporate networks. These devices are often unmonitored and fall outside the scope of traditional endpoint security.

Impact Assessment

The trends identified in the Check Point report have profound implications for organizational security:

• Increased Attack Volume and Velocity: Security teams are facing a higher volume of more sophisticated attacks than ever before. The speed of AI-driven attacks reduces the time available for detection and response.
• Democratization of Advanced Attacks: AI tools lower the barrier to entry for less skilled attackers, enabling them to launch campaigns that were previously the domain of advanced persistent threats (APTs).
• Data Breach as the New Norm: The shift to data-only extortion means that any successful intrusion is likely to become a data breach, with significant regulatory (GDPR, CCPA) and reputational consequences.
• Perimeter Redefined: The focus on edge devices means the traditional network perimeter is dissolving. Security must extend to every connected device, regardless of its location or function.

Detection & Response

To counter these evolving threats, organizations must adopt a proactive and AI-powered defense strategy.

• AI-Powered Defense: Fight AI with AI. Deploy security solutions that use machine learning and AI to detect novel malware, anomalous behavior, and sophisticated phishing attempts. This includes D3FEND User Behavior Analysis to spot compromised accounts.
• Consolidated Security Architecture: Move away from a fragmented collection of point solutions towards a consolidated, collaborative security platform. This provides unified visibility and allows for automated, cross-platform responses.
• Threat Intelligence Integration: Actively consume and integrate threat intelligence to stay ahead of new ransomware groups, TTPs, and vulnerabilities being exploited at the network edge.

Mitigation Recommendations

1. Adopt a Prevention-First Mindset: Focus on preventing attacks before they can cause damage. This includes deploying advanced threat prevention technologies on endpoints, networks, email, and cloud environments.
2. Secure the Edge: Implement a robust vulnerability and patch management program that explicitly includes all network edge devices like VPNs, firewalls, and IoT hardware. This is a critical application of M1051 - Update Software.
3. Comprehensive Data Protection: Assume a breach will happen and focus on protecting the data itself. Implement data loss prevention (DLP) policies, encrypt sensitive data at rest and in transit (M1041 - Encrypt Sensitive Information), and enforce strict access controls.
4. Develop AI Usage Policies: Create and enforce clear policies for the acceptable use of public AI tools by employees. Use security tools to monitor for and block the submission of sensitive corporate data to these platforms.