From Signals To Strategy: What Security Teams Must Prepare For In 2026
Rapid7, Thursday, January 22nd, 2026
The 2026 Security Predictions webinar reinforced a simple but uncomfortable truth. The forces shaping cyber risk are not new, but they are converging faster and with greater impact than many organizations are ready for. Geopolitics, insider risk, and threat intelligence have long influenced cyber operations. What has changed is the extent to which they directly affect everyday security decisions.
Geopolitical risk is now an operational concern
Cyber operations have always reflected geopolitical realities. Nation-states have used cyber capabilities for espionage, surveillance, and disruption for decades. Historically, these activities focused on governments, critical infrastructure, or defense sectors.
That line has faded.
Today, private organizations are increasingly targeted as proxies. Supply chains, cloud providers, and SaaS platforms offer scale, access, and plausible deniability for state-aligned groups. Many of these campaigns are not designed for immediate disruption. Instead, they focus on intelligence gathering, long-term access, or positioning that can be activated later.