Gartner: GenAI has broken traditional cybersecurity awareness – what comes next?

Cybersecurity awareness has long relied on a simple premise: educate employees, reduce risk. But in 2026, that model is no longer holding.

Generative AI (GenAI) is accelerating the threat landscape and increasing the likelihood of human error. The same tools organizations are adopting to drive productivity and innovation are also creating new opportunities for misuse and more sophisticated attacks.

This highlights the gap between traditional awareness programs and modern cyber risk.

For security and risk management leaders, awareness alone is no longer enough.

The human risk surface is expanding

GenAI adoption has surged across organizations, with more than 86% now piloting or deploying these tools. What began as experimentation has quickly become embedded in day-to-day workflows, often ...