📋 Video Summary

🎯 Overview

This IBM Technology video presents cybersecurity predictions for 2026 and beyond, building upon past trend analyses. The video explores the evolving landscape of cybersecurity threats, particularly focusing on the impact of AI, quantum computing, and emerging attack vectors. The speaker provides insights on potential risks and offers guidance on how to prepare for future challenges.

📌 Main Topic

Cybersecurity trends and predictions for 2026 and beyond, with a focus on AI, quantum computing, and evolving attack methods.

🔑 Key Points

• 1. Shadow AI Risks [0:50]

- Unapproved AI instances in organizations can lead to costly data breaches.

- Many organizations lack AI governance and security policies to mitigate these risks. - Shadow AI contributed to an additional cost of $670,000 in data breaches. [1:15]

• 2. Deepfakes on the Rise [2:04]

- Generative AI is fueling the creation of deepfakes, posing significant risks.

- Deepfake instances have increased dramatically, with an observed 1,500% increase between 2023 and 2025. [2:41] - Deepfakes are expected to become more pervasive and are a key enabler for social engineering attacks. [13:23]

• 3. AI-Generated Exploits and Malware [3:00]

- AI is being used to generate exploits and more sophisticated, polymorphic malware.

- AI lowers the barrier for attackers, while defense becomes more difficult. [3:33] - AI-generated malware is harder to detect because it can change over time. [3:14]

• 4. AI's Impact on the Attack Surface [3:49]

- AI increases the attack surface as organizations adopt AI for business advancement. [3:54]

- Prompt injection is a major vulnerability for large language models. [4:11]

• 5. AI for Cybersecurity Defense [4:43]

- AI can improve incident response and identify/respond to issues. [4:49]

- IBM developed an AI-based product to detect and defend against prompt injections. [5:03]

• 6. Quantum Computing's Dual Nature [5:33]

- Quantum computing can solve problems but also break current cryptography. [5:44]

- The need for post-quantum cryptography (quantum-safe) is growing. [5:55] - While awareness is increasing, deployments of quantum-safe solutions are still limited. [6:17]

• 7. The Rise of AI Agents [6:56]

- AI agents are rapidly evolving and will be central to future cybersecurity concerns. [7:15]

- Attacks on agents and attacks by agents will become prevalent. [7:25]

• 8. *Attacks On Agents [7:42]

- Agents amplify risks if compromised, potentially leading to rapid and widespread damage. [7:59]

- Indirect prompt injections can compromise agents. [8:31] - Managing non-human identities and access privileges becomes more complex. [9:04]

• 9. Attacks By Agents [10:35]

- AI agents will enhance phishing attacks through hyper-personalization. [10:47]

- Agents will automate malware creation and deployment, making attacks more efficient. [11:18] - Ransomware attacks are being automated by agents across the entire kill chain. [12:04] - AI agents will automate the entire kill chain, making "click-here-to-hack" scenarios a reality. [12:40]

• 10.AI's Broader Impact [14:32]

- AI's influence will extend across education, art, music, marketing, and coding. [14:39]

- Education must embrace AI instead of fighting it. [15:13] - Fewer coding jobs are expected in the future. [16:41]

• 11.Passkeys as a Security Solution [17:19]

- Passkeys are a more secure and phishing-resistant alternative to passwords. [17:24]

- Organizations like Amazon, Google, and IBM are adopting passkeys. [17:37, 18:19]

💡 Important Insights

• •Cost of Data Breach: Shadow AI adds significant costs to data breaches. [1:27]
• •Deepfake Detection: Deepfakes will become too advanced for detectors to keep up, requiring a shift in approach. [14:10]
• •Social Engineering: Deepfakes and agent-gathered data will make social engineering attacks more convincing. [13:23]

📖 Notable Examples & Stories

• •Deepfake Increase: The video references a 1,500% increase in observed deepfakes between 2023 and 2025. [2:48]
• •Prompt Injection: OWASP's Top 10 vulnerabilities list showed prompt injection at number one in both 2023 and 2025. [4:11]
• •AI Agent Zero-Click Attack: An example of an agent being compromised via a zero-click attack. [8:31]
• •IBM's Internal Passkey Adoption:* IBM is using passkeys across the entire company. [18:19]

🎓 Key Takeaways

• 1. AI will significantly impact cybersecurity, both positively and negatively.
• 2. Quantum computing poses a future threat to current cryptography, necessitating proactive measures.
• 3. AI agents will be central to future attacks, requiring organizations to understand and mitigate related risks.

✅ Action Items (if applicable)

□ Evaluate and implement AI governance and security policies. □ Start exploring post-quantum cryptography solutions. □ Educate your team about the risks of AI agents and social engineering.

🔍 Conclusion

The video highlights the rapidly evolving cybersecurity landscape, driven by AI and quantum computing. The main message is to proactively prepare for future threats by understanding these technological advancements, strengthening defenses, and adapting to the changing nature of cyberattacks.