$4.88M
Average cost of a data breach in 2025
IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025
2026 Threat Landscape
What the research says. What it means for your program.
We read the five major annual reports so you don't have to. Here's what the data says about the threat environment your team is operating in right now.
Updated July 2026258 days
Average time to identify and contain a breach
IBM Cost of a Data Breach 2025
79%
Of initial access achieved via valid credentials, phishing, or public-facing apps
Verizon DBIR 2025
34%
Increase in adversaries focused on cloud environments
CrowdStrike 2025
55%
Of organizations experienced a ransomware attack in the past year
Mandiant M-Trends 2025
45,000+
New CVEs published in 2024, a record high
CVE.org
Five Trends Shaping 2026
What the research agrees on.
Identity is the new perimeter
Valid credentials are the #1 initial access vector across every major report. MFA bypass, credential stuffing, and session hijacking are the dominant attack patterns. If you're not investing in identity security, you're leaving the front door open.
AI is accelerating both sides
Adversaries are using AI to generate more convincing phishing, automate reconnaissance, and speed up lateral movement. Defenders are using AI for detection and response. The teams that adopt AI-powered security tools faster will have a structural advantage.
Cloud misconfigurations remain the gift that keeps giving
Cloud environments are growing faster than security teams can govern them. Misconfigured storage, overprivileged identities, and exposed APIs are the most common cloud attack vectors.
Ransomware is industrialized
Ransomware-as-a-service has lowered the barrier to entry. Groups are more organized, more specialized, and more persistent. Double extortion (encrypt + exfiltrate) is now the norm.
The detection gap is still too wide
258 days average to identify and contain a breach. That's not a technology problem — it's a visibility and process problem. Teams that invest in detection engineering and threat hunting close this gap.
The Research
Where the data comes from.
DBIR
Verizon DBIR
Verizon
The definitive annual data breach investigation report. 30,000+ incidents analyzed.
GTR
CrowdStrike Global Threat Report
CrowdStrike
Adversary intelligence and threat landscape from the world's largest security telemetry.
MTR
Mandiant M-Trends
Google/Mandiant
Frontline incident response intelligence from thousands of investigations.
XFI
IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Index
IBM
Global threat intelligence from IBM's security research and incident response teams.
CDB
IBM Cost of a Data Breach
IBM
The most cited study on the financial impact of data breaches. 600+ organizations surveyed.
SOR
Arctic Wolf Security Operations Report
Arctic Wolf
Threat intelligence from a managed SOC serving thousands of organizations.