2026 Year of the Worm? AI Is Fueling a Malware Comeback

Analyst Warns AI-Fueled Malware Poised to Reshape Global Cyber Risk in 2026 Chris Riotta (@chrisriotta) • December 29, 2025

2025 was a defining year for the global cyberthreat landscape, marked by the accelerating convergence of nation-state conflict, cybercrime cartels and rapidly maturing artificial intelligence tools. Defenders spent much of the year grappling with record levels of zero-day exploitation, increasingly destructive intrusions and a growing overlap between criminal activity and state-directed operations.

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As organizations look ahead to 2026, many of the trends that emerged this year appear poised to intensify.

Tom Kellerman, vice president of cyber risk at HiTrust and a longtime government and industry advisor, said the past year has reshaped how attackers think about access, persistence and impact. In an end-of-year interview with Information Security Media Group, Kellerman outlined why hybrid attacks, activist-driven cyber campaigns and the ...