Today’s cyber threat actors are harnessing AI and cutting-edge tech to strike faster and navigate networks with startling agility. Armed with these capabilities, nation-state adversaries and cybercriminal groups can spot vulnerabilities in legacy systems with newfound speed and precision. This leaves defenders struggling to keep up and attackers emboldened.
Staying ahead of threat actors means having a clearer view across complex and interconnected cloud-based and legacy-driven environments. Older applications and system vulnerabilities can be difficult to track, and if not patched consistently, they’re an open invitation to intruders. Meanwhile, cloud configuration and integration gaps remain foundational challenges for organizations to solve, made harder with AI-enabled adversaries raising the stakes.
Key findings in PwC’s 2026 Global Digital Trust Insights survey reinforce these ongoing concerns:
- Cloud-related threats ranked as the #1 cyber threat organizations are least prepared to address
- Legacy systems and supply chain are the top 2 vulnerabilities, with more than half of respondents saying their organizations are, at best, only “somewhat capable” of withstanding cyber-attacks targeting those areas
Organizations may have different or unique areas of concern, but the response in all cases should be grounded in foundational security practices—the cornerstone of effective cyber defense. When every organization strengthens its own security, our shared digital ecosystem becomes more resilient. Collective defense starts with individual strength.