As enterprises accelerate their AI adoption, 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for cybersecurity. According to senior leaders at CrowdStrike, the rapid rise of generative AI—across software development, identity systems, and security operations—will fundamentally alter how both adversaries and defenders operate. What emerges is a future where machine-speed attacks force machine-speed defense, and where the next major vulnerabilities may be created—and discovered—by AI itself.
AI Turns Into a Zero-Day Engine
Adam Meyers, SVP of Counter Adversary Operations at CrowdStrike, warns that 2026 could witness an unprecedented surge in zero-day vulnerabilities. As AI accelerates how code is written and reviewed, it is also becoming exceptionally effective at finding weaknesses. Traditional vulnerability discovery relies on two approaches: deep, human-led analysis or automated fuzzing. With GenAI reshaping the latter, fuzzing becomes faster, smarter, and infinitely scalable.
Advanced adversaries are already investing in AI-driven vulnerability discovery. As the cost of identifying and weaponizing flaws plummets, organisations may see a spike in high-impact exploits that enable attackers to quietly gain initial access. Meyers notes that defenders who thrive in this environment will be those who use AI with equal intensity—detecting, patching, and proactively hunting for zero-days at the same velocity at which they are created.
Prompt Injection: The New Phishing
If phishing defined the threat landscape of the email era, prompt injection will define the AI era, says Elia Zaitsev, CTO of CrowdStrike. As enterprises roll out AI assistants, copilots, and autonomous agents, attackers are embedding hidden instructions to override safeguards, steal data, or manipulate how systems behave. Prompts are becoming a new form of malware—and the interaction layer itself has become a fresh attack surface.
Zaitsev predicts that 2026 will see the rise of AI Detection and Response (AIDR), offering the same real-time visibility and containment that EDR brought to endpoints. Organisations will need to monitor prompts, responses, and agent actions as closely as they monitor system logs. Only then can AI truly support innovation without escalating risk.
The Agentic SOC Becomes Reality
Security teams today face adversaries who already operate at machine speed. In 2026, SOCs will need to evolve from reactive alert handling to orchestrating an entire ecosystem of intelligent, autonomous agents. This “agentic SOC” model—powered by AI systems that can analyze, decide, and act—will radically accelerate detection and response cycles.
Yet AI will not replace human experts. Rather, it will elevate them. Zaitsev outlines the prerequisites for success: complete environmental context for both analysts and agents; a mission-ready AI workforce trained on years of SOC operations; standardized benchmarks for validating agent performance; and the ability for organisations to build and customize agents for specific needs. Collaboration between analysts and agents will become central to modern security operations, ensuring that AI operates with human judgment, direction, and oversight.
Identity Security for a Post-Human World
By 2026, non-human identities—AI agents, automated services, machine workloads—will vastly outnumber humans in the enterprise. Each of these entities will hold powerful privileges, from OAuth tokens and API keys to access rights across previously disconnected data sets. These agents won’t just mimic human capabilities; they will exceed them, posing new identity security challenges.
Zaitsev cautions that traditional identity frameworks cannot withstand this shift. Organisations will need the ability to track every agent action, contain threats instantly, and attribute outcomes to the human owner of each agent. When an AI agent leaks confidential data or triggers financial fraud, “the AI did it” will no longer be an acceptable conclusion. This new frontier demands identity guardrails tailored for entities that operate without a pulse—but with immense power.