We take a look at the biggest topics in cybersecurity for 2026.
In 2025, Europe faced a wave of cyber attacks: from airport disruptions and allegations of election sabotage to GPS spoofing on European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s flight and assaults on satellites in space.
The continent was among the hardest hit, accounting for 22 percent of all global ransomware attacks, where data is stolen, encrypted, and then exchanged for a ransom. Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks also surged, with 3.2 million recordedthroughout Europe, the Middle East, and African countries in the first part of the year alone.
These cyberattacks also had major financial impacts, costing countries like France, Germany, Italy, and Spain a combined €300 billion in the last five years, according to global insurance group Howden.
The need to address cybersecurity is more pressing than ever, and we expect it to be a major priority for governments in 2026. Euronews Next has compiled some of the major reports predicting for where cybersecurity is headed this year.
If 2025 was the year that cybersecurity became a “geopolitical flashpoint,” according to Forrester, then 2026 will be one where operations from actors such as Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea will expand, the global market research company wrote in its cybersecurity predictions report.
The company said that political instability and new technology will force cybersecurity and risk leaders to adapt this year.
Source: Euronews