Influence on the Cybersecurity Landscape

🔐 Cybersecurity is no longer an IT function. It’s an enterprise-wide architecture. When you break it down, modern cybersecurity spans Governance, Intelligence, Infrastructure, Privacy, Facilities, Business, and Supply Chain. It’s not one department. It’s the entire organization. Look at what today’s security landscape really covers: ✔ Governance & Risk ✔ Security Operations & Threat Detection ✔ IAM & Infrastructure Security ✔ Data Protection & Endpoint Control ✔ Change & Configuration Management ✔ Physical & Facilities Security ✔ Privacy & Legal ✔ Third-Party & Supply Chain Risk ✔ Application Security ✔ Business Continuity & Resilience Cybersecurity now touches: • Strategy • Technology • People • Vendors • Compliance • Operations • Customer trust The biggest mistake companies still make? Treating cybersecurity as a technical problem. It’s a business resilience strategy. The organizations that will win are those where: 🔹 The CISO speaks business, not just tech 🔹 Security aligns with growth 🔹 Risk is managed proactively, not reactively 🔹 Security is embedded into culture, not bolted on In 2026 and beyond, cybersecurity maturity won’t be measured by tools. It will be measured by how integrated security is across every function. Question for you: Is cybersecurity still a department in your company, or is it part of your operating model?

A small but market‑defining cohort of partners is now shaping where cybersecurity investment goes next. Out of nearly 300,000 partners that participate in the cybersecurity ecosystem worldwide, the top 500 generate more than $140bn in annual revenue from cybersecurity technology and services, representing over half of the addressable market. Their scale, expertise and service depth give them disproportionate influence over how organisations prioritise security, modernise architectures and select vendors. What sets this group apart is its strength in services. The Omdia Cybersecurity Partner 500 (CP500) captures 57% of all cybersecurity services revenue, far exceeding its share of technology resale. This reflects a structural shift in the market. Organisations are no longer buying point products; they are buying outcomes such as reduced risk, stronger resilience, improved operational maturity and sustained compliance. These outcomes are delivered through strategic advisory, design, deployment and integration, managed operations, incident response, continuous risk management and governance. Partners that deliver capabilities around the leading cybersecurity platforms are becoming the long‑term drivers of security transformation across their customer base. These top 500 partners are also redefining capability models. They are moving toward platform‑driven, AI‑augmented security, scaling SOC operations across hybrid environments, automating detection and response, converging IT and OT security, and embedding identity, compliance and industry‑specific expertise. Together, they are elevating cybersecurity from a defensive cost to a strategic enabler for organizations. The ecosystem remains diverse. GSIs represent just 7% of the CP500 but generate nearly half its revenue. Regional SIs, consulting firms, VARs, MSSPs, SPs and MSPs each play distinct roles, from global transformation to national‑level sovereignty and compliance. The top 30 account for 50% of CP500 revenue, each exceeding $1bn. Partners ranked 31–100 bring regional strength and deep specialisation, while 101–500 form the operational backbone of national cybersecurity across public sector, critical infrastructure and SMBs. The top 10 include: Deloitte Accenture NTT DATA IBM Consulting PwC Tata Consultancy Services EY Orange Cyberdefense KPMG World Wide Technology More detailed information is available to Omdia clients.

AI is increasingly moving into the control plane of our digital platforms, and that shift has profound implications for cybersecurity. Much of today’s AI discussion focuses on productivity and automation. Important topics, but not the most consequential from a security perspective. What matters more is where AI is being embedded. Increasingly, it is becoming part of the control layers we depend on, including identity, access, analytics, decision support, and security tooling itself. Cybersecurity has traditionally focused on protecting data: where it resides, who can access it, and how it is encrypted. These concerns remain essential, but they are no longer sufficient. AI systems do more than process information. They infer, prioritise, adapt, and influence behaviour. As AI becomes embedded in security-relevant platforms, the core question shifts from where data is stored to who controls system behaviour. From a security perspective, control equals trust. As AI capabilities advance, some long-standing assumptions about static trust need to be re-examined. Systems are updated frequently, operate across platforms and jurisdictions, and increasingly act autonomously. In this environment, trust cannot be implicit. It must be continuously established, verified, and monitored. Protecting customer data therefore means protecting the whole system. Data flows through identities, platforms, APIs, and AI-driven components. When AI influences these flows, security requires transparency, accountability for automated decisions, the ability to intervene, and resilience when dependencies change or fail. At SEB, we approach AI with both ambition and discipline. Our focus is on strong control, continuous verification, and resilience by design. AI does not reduce our responsibility for cybersecurity. It increases it. The real question is not whether AI will change cybersecurity. It already has. The question is whether we are prepared for what that change truly means.

There’s been a lot of discussion about the impact of AI on cybersecurity and repeated assertions that we’re at an inflection point. A picture is worth 1,000 words. This graphic captures the dynamic clearly: AI is simultaneously expanding the attack surface and dramatically reducing the cost to perform an attack. When those curves intersect, the economics of cyber risk fundamentally change. We are at that intersection. AI lowers the barrier to entry. It automates reconnaissance. It scales social engineering. It compresses the time between discovery and exploitation. At the same time, organizations are more distributed, cloud-native, API-driven, and software-defined than ever before. The result: exponential exposure combined with frictionless offense. For CISOs, this isn’t just about adopting AI tools, it’s about rethinking the operating model. The implications: 1️⃣ Point-in-time security is obsolete. Annual assessments and periodic pen tests can’t keep pace with AI-enabled attackers. Exposure must be continuously discovered, validated, and prioritized. 2️⃣ Attack surface visibility must become dynamic. CISOs need real-time understanding of internet-facing assets, shadow IT, cloud misconfigurations, and identity exposure — because attackers are already mapping it with automation. 3️⃣ Validation matters more than volume. The issue is no longer “how many vulnerabilities exist,” but “which exposures are actually exploitable in my environment right now?” 4️⃣ Prioritization must be attacker-informed. AI-powered adversaries optimize their paths to impact. Defensive prioritization must mirror that logic, aligning remediation to the exposures that meaningfully reduce business risk. 5️⃣ Security must become outcome-driven. Boards don’t care about vulnerability counts. They care about resilience; they are looking for measurable exposure reduction and demonstrable risk mitigation over time. In an AI-driven threat landscape, the defender advantage won’t come from working harder. It will come from operating differently. Continuous visibility. Continuous validation. Continuous prioritization. Continuous improvement. That’s the shift. The organizations that embrace exposure management as a discipline, not a tool category, will be positioned to bend the curve back in their favor. Security leaders: How are you evolving your security strategy in response to this new attacker economics?

Geopolitics is no longer just a government concern; it’s a business imperative and companies are on the frontline. Just recently, the U.S. government issued a warning that Iran-linked hackers were actively targeting U.S. firms and critical infrastructure, even during ceasefire negotiations. Meanwhile, Australia elevated its cyber threat level due to pro‑Russian and pro‑Iran online activity, exposing vulnerabilities facing small to medium enterprises. These are not distant risks. They are active campaigns aimed at intellectual property theft, infrastructure disruption, reputational damage, and direct interference in global commerce. So, what does this mean for the C-Suite? It is no longer possible to delegate cybersecurity entirely to the CISO. While your CISO brings essential technical and strategic expertise, only the broader C-Suite (and board) can balance cybersecurity posture with overall corporate strategy, supply-chain choices, investment decisions, and geopolitical risks. When governments join alliances, impose sanctions, or engage militarily, these actions create immediate ripples across commercial networks. It’s imperative that boards and executive teams understand how political developments impact vendor relationships, operational stability, and their organization's cyber footprint, and do so ideally before a breach occurs. During my career leading global intelligence operations, I witnessed firsthand the deep connection between cyber threats and geopolitics. At CIA, every operational decision involved careful assessments of the geopolitical landscape. We knew that cyber threats, whether clearly visible or lurking beneath the surface, inevitably reflected broader international tensions. Anticipating adversarial intentions and capabilities was essential for government, and must be considered essential for commercial organizations today, particularly those operating on the global stage. However, a recent EY study found that while cybersecurity is discussed at the C‑Suite level, meaningful engagement is extremely limited. This superficial approach leaves businesses dangerously exposed. Even the best CISOs often lack the strategic mandate to fully integrate with corporate risk decisions. But when the CEO, C-Suite, and Board actively champion this effort, it becomes a competitive and security advantage, especially in a world where cyber clashes mirror geopolitical tensions. Today, geopolitics is moving through your IT systems and your suppliers, and it can impact the trust of your customers. It’s both a boardroom issue and a C‑Suite imperative. Are you ready to lead this conversation in your organization? If so, how about this for your next move. Bring one geopolitical scenario into your next leadership meeting and discuss its potential impact on cyber risk. Yes, it may seem hypothetical, but it might also be survival. #Cybersecurity #CyberThreats #Leadership #Geopolitics #CyberRisk #IntelligenceInTheBoardroom

Recent findings highlight the role of AI-powered influence campaigns and unconventional attack strategies in shaping today’s cyber threat landscape. The Social Design Agency (SDA), a Moscow-based company sanctioned by the U.S., has been linked to Operation Undercut—a campaign using #AI-generated videos and fake websites to erode Western support for #Ukraine, amplify geopolitical tensions, and influence narratives around the 2024 U.S. elections. SDA leverages AI to create convincing fake media, undermining trust in legitimate news sources. This tactic not only targets geopolitics but could extend to corporate brand manipulation or reputational attacks. Additionally, unconventional #cyberattacks like APT28’s nearest neighbor attack—where Wi-Fi networks of adjacent buildings were compromised—underline the importance of securing physical network access points and adopting comprehensive multi-factor authentication (MFA) strategies. #Cybersecurity is no longer just about protecting internal networks; it’s about safeguarding trust in the digital and informational ecosystems surrounding your organization. Leaders must invest in proactive defense strategies, AI detection tools, and partnerships to combat these sophisticated threats. https://lnkd.in/e87_vbYM

From what I’ve seen across industries, the next evolution of cyber leadership has nothing to do with technology it’s more about trust. And this validates that: The World Economic Forum Cybersecurity new report, “Elevating Cybersecurity: Ensuring Strategic and Sustainable Impact for CISOs,” defines a clear inflection point for our industry. Cybersecurity is no longer a technical discipline it’s a business function that determines trust, resilience, and growth. The modern CISO’s role extends beyond defense to protecting business models, guiding innovation, and influencing enterprise strategy. What makes this report different is how it reframes cybersecurity as a system of relationships, not a stack of tools. Boards, regulators, suppliers, HR, and AI teams all share accountability for operational trust and resilience. I’ve seen this shift first hand across global organizations the most effective CISOs lead with influence, not control. They translate risk into outcomes, connect security to business value, and embed resilience into culture. Boards play a decisive role in this evolution. They must provide CISOs with a clear mandate, independent authority, and a ring-fenced budget aligning accountability with empowerment. Success will no longer be measured by the number of breaches prevented, but by how deeply security is embedded into enterprise values, culture, and decision-making. #BoardLeadership #SecureAllTogether https://lnkd.in/gVHW7CQ3

The world is watching as geopolitical tensions rise, but are we paying enough attention to the hidden battleground of cyberspace? 🤔 In an era of escalating global conflicts, the digital realm has become a theater for new forms of warfare and influence. We see state-sponsored cyberattacks disrupting critical infrastructure, sophisticated espionage campaigns stealing sensitive information, and the weaponization of disinformation to sow discord and manipulate public opinion. The impact of geopolitics on cybersecurity is undeniable, but the questions it raises are complex and far-reaching: How can we balance national security concerns with the need to protect individual liberties and privacy in the digital age? This requires a delicate balancing act, with robust legal frameworks, transparent oversight, and strong encryption technologies playing a crucial role. What role should international cooperation play in establishing norms and deterring cyber aggression? International collaboration is essential. This involves sharing threat intelligence, coordinating responses, and establishing clear rules of engagement in cyberspace. Are we prepared for the potential consequences of a major cyber conflict, and what steps can we take to mitigate those risks? Preparedness involves investing in resilient infrastructure, developing robust incident response plans, and fostering a culture of cybersecurity awareness at all levels of society. The intersection of geopolitics and cybersecurity is a critical issue that demands our attention. I believe that by understanding the evolving threat landscape, promoting international cooperation, and investing in robust cybersecurity measures, we can navigate this complex terrain and build a more secure digital future for all. #cybersecurity #geopolitics #informationwarfare #digitalrisks #cyberconflict

The boardroom is where #cybersecurity stops being a tech issue and becomes a business imperative. CISOs who translate risk into impact shape executive decisions. But too often, security is seen as a cost rather than an investment. #CISOs must bridge technical depth with strategic clarity -- trust drives influence. Influence is more than presenting threats. The goal is framing security as a driver of resilience and competitive edge. Success goes beyond securing systems; it’s securing buy-in. The best CISOs don't just report problems—they shape the solutions that move the business forward.

𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁. I believe that some of us used to think of #cybersecurity as a technical function, important, but secondary to strategy. Well, that thinking doesn’t hold anymore. Today, cybersecurity defines how resilient and trusted a business can be. It’s a strategic advantage. When I read McKinsey & Company’s 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥-𝘓𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘺𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘺, it reminded me how quickly leadership priorities are evolving. ✅ In board discussions and leadership meetings, I’ve seen how cybersecurity shapes decisions around capital, data, and governance. The strongest organizations treat it not as compliance, but as a foundation for innovation and long-term value creation. ✅ The same shift applies to AI. As its influence expands, governance can’t just be reactive or regulatory. It has to be intentional. Leaders need to understand both the potential and the boundaries, what AI can do, and what it should do. For me, this isn’t about becoming an expert in every technology. It’s about building the systems, culture, and trust that allow technology to serve a bigger purpose. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: ➡️𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮. It influences competitiveness as much as cost or capital allocation. ➡️𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰. Managing risk well creates room for growth and innovation. ➡️𝗔𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. Leadership must move faster than regulation and set its own ethical boundaries. ➡️𝗙𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. The best boards and executives don’t delegate understanding, they seek it. ➡️𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿. Every decision around technology and data should reinforce the values the organization stands for. Because in this new era, leadership isn’t just about understanding risk, it’s about turning responsibility into advantage, and guiding technology with conviction and purpose. Curious how other leaders are reframing cybersecurity and AI as part of their strategic agenda? The conversation is only just beginning. Reference: https://lnkd.in/gCgqr42Q