As part of an online miniseries, Daz Preuss, Chief Operating Officer of CybExer discusses his industry predictions for 2026.
Can you tell me a bit about yourself, your job role and how long you have been at the company?
I’m the Chief Operating Officer for the UK arm of CybExer, which was established in 2016 to address the escalating complexity of modern cyber-warfare.
I joined the company in 2024 after serving almost 27 years in the defence industry.
During that time, I trained as a telecommunications systems engineer, before becoming a solutions architect for global operations.
I also spent time as technical lead for capability development and for cyber training development, during which time I worked alongside CybExer to deliver large scale cyber-training exercises, including Army Cyber Spartan.
What are some of the key trends and predictions you think we will see in the security industry in 2026?
In 2026, the primary concern will shift towards AI’s power to lower barriers for threat actors. Pre-built frameworks enable even the least-skilled individuals to launch attacks, removing the need for technical expertise entirely.
This will introduce ethical challenges in early talent management and place additional responsibility on organisations to ensure knowledge is used responsibly.
At the same time, 2026 will see an explosion of insecure systems due to the rush to integrate AI in order to remain competitive.
We will see security gaps created through rapid implementation become organisations’ next attack surface.
What is one piece of advice you would give organisations and professionals as they head into 2026?
Organisations must realise that adopting AI-driven security solutions won’t suffice, they also need to train their teams to respond to AI-enabled attacks.
It will become increasingly critical for defenders to understand the capabilities of AI in enabling cyberattacks – and how these same technologies can be harnessed for protection, marking the onset of what some are calling the ‘AI wars.’
The ability to leverage AI effectively and equip teams with the ability to simulate and analyse AI-driven attack scenarios will be a main differentiator in staying ahead of emerging threats in 2026.