Cybersecurity strategy 2026: 7 key resolutions for business leaders

In the context of the agentic AI era in 2026, cybersecurity is no longer purely an IT problem. For business leaders, it is a core factor in protecting brand value, maintaining cash flow, and ensuring legal compliance.

Below are 7 strategic resolutions that management needs to integrate into their 2026 operational plans.

1. Shift the mindset: from defense to business resilience

Leaders must accept the reality that no system is invulnerable. Instead of just pouring capital into preventative walls, the strategic focus must be on the ability to maintain operations and recover rapidly after an incident.

Shifting Mindset: From "Defense" to "Business Resilience"

Elliott Franklin, chief information security officer (CISO) at Fortitude Re, stated: "The approach will center around highly structured project management and intentional design. By taking a calculated, engineering-based approach—rather than just reacting to outages or disruptions—the goal is to reinforce system stability, scalability, and reliability. This foundation allows the business to move forward confidently, knowing its technology and security investments are built to last and evolve."

• Management solution: Prioritize budgets for cyber drill scenarios and chaos engineering testing. Refer to the in-depth cybersecurity assessment services of ipsip.vn to identify weaknesses in the supply chain. (Additional reference information).

2. Manage application risks and third-party access permissions

The integration of numerous SaaS applications and third-party tools creates data blind spots. Leaders need to tighten permission control processes to avoid data leakage caused by forgotten access rights.

• Strategic solution: Establish a quarterly application permission audit process. Apply the principle of least privilege (PoLP) across the entire system. Any tool that does not deliver a clear security ROI (return on investment) must be revoked immediately. (Additional reference information).

3. Establish governance frameworks for AI agents

The year 2026 witnesses the dominance of AI agents (such as GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, and Ollama) in operational workflows.

AI paradox

However, experts like Kayla Bondy and Brian Wald have warned about the "AI paradox" where these tools can break CI/CD pipelines without proper oversight. JetBrains has even warned of an impending "ROI crisis" similar to the early cloud era if businesses fail to control AI behavior.

• Management solution: Deploy evaluation frameworks like agentevals by Solo.io to monitor the activities of AI agents. Ensure that all AI-generated code passes automated vulnerability filtering (SAST/DAST) to prevent buffer overflows or misconfigurations before deployment. (Additional reference information).

4. Modernize identity systems and eliminate password dependence

Weak passwords and password reuse remain the Achilles heel of modern enterprises. Leaders need to accelerate the passwordless roadmap or centralized identity management to minimize human-centric risks.

• Strategic solution: Invest in enterprise password managers integrated with biometric or hardware authentication (FIDO2). Combine this with mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) across the entire organization. (Additional reference information).

5. Invest in the human firewall against social engineering

Phishing attacks utilizing deepfakes are becoming a direct threat to executive reputations. Managers must build a culture of "verify before acting" for all urgent requests.

• Management solution: Implement adaptive security awareness training programs. Encourage employees to perform out-of-band verification when receiving sensitive requests regarding data or fund transfers from superiors or partners. (Additional reference information).

Implement cybersecurity awareness training programs.

6. Protect digital footprints and corporate privacy

The exploitation of open-source intelligence (OSINT) provides hackers with ammunition to build sophisticated attack scenarios. Leaders must set an example by limiting the exposure of personally identifiable information (PII) on public platforms.

• Strategic solution: Treat all personal identification details (birthdays, pet names, locations) as sensitive data. Use fake answers for security questions. Utilize enterprise VPNs to obfuscate important connections when working remotely. (Additional reference information).

7. Optimize network infrastructure with proactive DNS filtering

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DNS is the first line of defense but is often overlooked. Deploying DNS filtering helps block connections to malicious command and control (C&C) servers right from the initiation phase.

• Management solution: Integrate smart DNS filtering into the overall cybersecurity strategy. Combine this with the cybersecurity monitoring (SOC) services of ipsip.vn to detect early anomalies from access logs, helping businesses proactively intercept threats before consequences occur. (Additional reference information).

2026 cybersecurity landscape update

In Vietnam and globally, the shift towards low-cost AI infrastructure is creating a complex security challenge. Recent reports indicate that Nvidia-backed AI infrastructure can reduce operational costs by 50% to 90% compared to traditional hyperscalers, but simultaneously opens up new vulnerabilities in supply chain management.

Business leaders must pay special attention to common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) related to open-source libraries utilized by AI, which are seeing a 30% increase compared to 2025. The sophistication of advanced persistent threat (APT) groups targeting cloud computing and AI surfaces requires a serious investment in multi-layered defense solutions.

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Reference sources:

• 6 Security-Focused New Year’s Resolutions for 2026 - DNSFilter: https://www.dnsfilter.com/blog/6-security-focused-new-years-resolutions-for-2026

• Forget Predictions: Tech Leaders’ Actual 2026 Resolutions - The New Stack: https://thenewstack.io/forget-predictions-tech-leaders-actual-2026-resolutions/

• Cybersecurity leaders' resolutions for 2026 - CSO Online: https://www.csoonline.com/article/4110151/cybersecurity-leaders-resolutions-for-2026.html

• Top 10 Cybersecurity New Year’s Resolutions Leaders Must Keep In 2026 - Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilsayegh/2026/01/03/top-10-cybersecurity-new-years-resolutions-leaders-must-keep-in-2026/