Fortinet warns of industrialized cybercrime in 2026

Fortinet has released its 2026 Cyberthreat Predictions Report, presenting a global outlook that foresees cybercrime accelerating into a fully industrialized ecosystem driven by automation, specialization, and artificial intelligence.

The report, produced annually by FortiGuard Labs, analyzes how technology, economics, and human behavior shape cyber risk, and describes 2026 as a turning point in which the decisive factor for both attackers and defenders will be throughput, or the speed at which intelligence can be converted into action.

FortiGuard Labs emphasized that AI, automation, and a maturing cybercrime supply chain will make intrusions faster and easier, pushing attackers to refine and automate existing techniques rather than develop new ones.

The report notes that AI systems will manage reconnaissance, accelerate intrusion, parse stolen data, and even generate ransom negotiations.

Fortinet predicts that autonomous cybercrime agents operating on the dark web will begin executing entire attack stages with minimal human oversight.

According to the report, these developments will dramatically increase criminal capacity, enabling a ransomware affiliate that once handled a few campaigns to launch dozens simultaneously.

Fortinet also warns that the time between intrusion and impact is expected to compress from days to minutes, making operational speed the defining cybersecurity risk in 2026.

The predictions highlight the emergence of specialized AI agents designed to assist cybercriminal operations, automating key stages such as credential theft, lateral movement, and data monetization.

AI-driven data analysis is also expected to accelerate monetization, allowing attackers to instantly prioritize stolen databases, identify high-value victims, and produce personalized extortion messages.

FortiGuard Labs forecasts that underground markets will continue to mature, with botnet and credential-rental services becoming more targeted and tailored by industry, geography, and system profile.

Black-market platforms are expected to adopt customer service systems, reputation scoring, and automated escrow as cybercrime evolves toward full industrialization.

On the defense front, Fortinet says organizations must match attackers’ speed through machine-speed defense, which compresses detection and containment from hours to minutes.

Frameworks such as continuous threat exposure management and MITRE ATT&CK will be essential for mapping active threats, identifying exposures, and prioritizing remediation using live data.

The report stresses that identity will become the core of security operations as organizations increasingly authenticate not only people but also automated agents, AI processes, and machine-to-machine interactions.

Managing non-human identities will be essential to preventing large-scale privilege escalation and data compromise.

Fortinet also highlights the need for global cooperation, citing initiatives such as INTERPOL’s Operation Serengeti 2.0, which the company supports to disrupt criminal infrastructure through real-time intelligence sharing.

New programs such as the Fortinet-Crime Stoppers International Cybercrime Bounty program initiative are expected to help communities safely report cyberthreats and strengthen deterrence.

The report anticipates continued investment in education and prevention campaigns targeted at young or at-risk populations who may be drawn into cybercrime recruitment pipelines.

Looking toward 2027, Fortinet predicts a cybercrime ecosystem operating at a scale comparable to legitimate global industries, driven by agentic AI models capable of semi-autonomous, swarm-based offensive coordination.

The report warns that supply-chain attacks on AI and embedded systems will grow more sophisticated as adversaries adapt faster.

FortiGuard Labs concludes that the future of cybersecurity will depend on how effectively human expertise and automation can operate together as adaptive systems.

“Cybersecurity has become a race of systems, not individuals,” said Jonas Walker, Director of Threat Intelligence APAC & Middle East at FortiGuard Labs. “The findings clearly show that cybercrime is no longer an opportunistic activity, it is an industrialized system operating at machine speed. As automation, specialization, and AI redefine every stage of the attack lifecycle, the time between compromise and consequence continues to collapse. The road ahead will be shaped by how quickly defenders can adapt to this reality.”

Bambi Escalante, Fortinet Philippines Country Manager, said the implications for defenders are significant as attackers increasingly automate reconnaissance, privilege escalation, and extortion.

“For defenders, the shift we are seeing is profound. Static configurations and periodic assessments can’t keep pace with an environment where attackers automate reconnaissance, privilege escalation, and extortion in minutes,” Escalante said. “What organizations need is a unified, adaptive security posture, one that brings together threat intelligence, exposure management, and incident response into a continuous, AI-enabled workflow. At Fortinet, our focus is on helping customers build this level of resilience so they can act at the same speed as the threats they face and strengthen their ability to contain attacks before disruption occurs.”

Fortinet encourages organizations to review the full 2026 Cyberthreat Predictions Report for detailed forecasts, sector-specific insights, and guidance for strengthening resilience amid the rise of industrialized cybercrime.