Predict 2026: AI, Trust and the Security Reckoning Ahead
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Every year at Predict, we try to answer one essential question. What is the big story for the year ahead?</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For 2026, the answer is clear. AI is the story. But for the security community, the real issue is not whether AI will transform technology. It is whether we can secure it, govern it, and trust it before it transforms us.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">That is why Techstrong has named AI as our Person of the Year, the first time we have ever given that recognition to a technology. And it is why Predict 2026 may be the most important Predict we have ever produced.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.predict2026.com/en/registration-form" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Register now to join us at Predict 2026</a>.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is the eighth year of Predict. When I first imagined this event nearly a decade ago, I envisioned a place where analysts could speak plainly about what they saw coming next. Not marketing. Not hype. Just informed predictions. In 2026, that vision finally comes together in a way that matters deeply for security leaders.</span></p><h3><b>AI Changes Everything About Security</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">AI is not just another technology that security teams must learn to protect. It fundamentally changes the nature of risk.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Agentic AI systems act autonomously. Models learn and evolve. Data pipelines become attack surfaces. Decisions once made by humans are now made by machines. The traditional security playbook was not written for this world.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Predict 2026 exists to help security leaders understand what this new reality looks like and how to prepare for it.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If security, risk, and resilience are part of your job, <a href="https://www.predict2026.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">you should be at Predict 2026</a>.</span></p><h3><b>Analyst Led Predictions on AI, Risk, and Trust</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year, nearly the <a href="https://futurumgroup.com/about-us/analyst-directory/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">entire Futurum analyst team</a> will present at Predict 2026, offering security-focused insight grounded in research and real-world observation.</span></p><p><b>How Will Agentic AI Impact the Licensing and Pricing of SaaS Software</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Keith Kirkpatrick of Futurum joins me to explore how agentic AI changes the economics of SaaS. For security leaders, this matters because pricing models influence access controls, usage visibility, and accountability. When AI agents consume services instead of people, security assumptions break.</span></p><p><b>AI and Agent Accelerated Development</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Mitch Ashley, VP and practice lead for software lifecycle engineering at <a href="https://futurumgroup.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Futurum Group</a>, examines how AI-driven development accelerates delivery. Faster pipelines mean faster risk propagation. This session highlights why security must be embedded earlier and more deeply than ever.</span></p><p><b>2026: The Year Ahead</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Daniel Newman, CEO of Futurum, provides a broad view of the forces shaping technology and business in 2026. His session places AI-driven security challenges in the context of enterprise strategy, regulation, and market pressure.</span></p><p><b>AI’s Structural Shifts and Physical Limits</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nick Patience, VP and practice lead for AI platforms at Futurum, looks at the physical realities behind AI. Power, hardware specialization, and infrastructure constraints all affect security posture. These limits shape where AI workloads run and how they can be protected.</span></p><p><b>The Urgency of Addressing the Trust Gap in All Things AI and Agentic</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fernando Montenegro, VP and practice lead for cybersecurity and resilience at Futurum, addresses the central issue facing AI adoption. Trust. From governance and policy to runtime security and risk management, this session speaks directly to the heart of AI security.</span></p><p><b>The Strategic View at Futurum</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tiffani Bova, chief strategy and research officer at Futurum, connects AI risk to business outcomes. Security leaders increasingly influence growth, customer trust, and brand reputation. This session explains why security strategy is now a business strategy.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These insights are essential for security leaders. <a href="https://www.predict2026.com/en/registration-form" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Register now here</a>.</span></p><h3><b>When AI Meets Operational Reality</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Predict 2026 also explores how AI-driven complexity stresses existing security and operational models.</span></p><p><b>AI’s Growing Pains Force CIOs to Reinvent Cloud, Security, and Operational Strategies</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dion Hinchcliffe, Futurum Distinguished Thought Leader, examines how AI workloads challenge current cloud and security architectures. For CISOs and security architects, this session highlights where existing controls will fail and what must evolve.</span></p><p><b>Data: Enabling the Great AI Acceleration in 2026</b></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brad Shimmin, VP and practice lead for data intelligence, analytics, and infrastructure at Futurum, focuses on data as both an enabler and a risk. Data quality, governance, and access control will determine whether AI systems are secure or dangerous.</span></p><h3><b>RSA Conference Perspectives on the Cybersecurity Landscape</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Predict 2026 also includes analysts from the RSA Conference ecosystem, offering a forward look at the cybersecurity themes that will define 2026 and shape RSAC in March.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These sessions examine how AI is changing threat models, expanding attack surfaces, and forcing security teams to rethink detection, response, and resilience.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Get ahead of the RSAC conversation by joining Predict 2026.</span></p><h3><b>Recognizing Security and DevOps Excellence</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As part of our Predict tradition, we will announce the DevOps Dozen award winners live during the event. While rooted in DevOps, these awards increasingly reflect the convergence of security, operations, and engineering that defines modern enterprises.</span></p><h3><b>Why Security Leaders Should Attend Predict 2026</b></h3><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">AI in 2026 will challenge nearly every assumption security teams hold today. Trust models will be tested. Governance frameworks will be strained. The cost of getting it wrong will rise.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Predict 2026 is about helping security leaders move from reaction to readiness. From uncertainty to informed action.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you want to understand how AI will reshape risk, trust, and security in the coming year, Predict 2026 is the event you cannot afford to miss.</span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><a href="https://www.predict2026.com/en/registration-form" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Register today here</a> and join us at Predict 2026. </span></p><p><span style="font-weight: 400;">AI is the story of 2026. For security, it is the reckoning.</span></p><div class="spu-placeholder" style="display:none"></div><div class="addtoany_share_save_container addtoany_content addtoany_content_bottom"><div class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_20 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://securityboulevard.com/2026/01/predict-2026-ai-trust-and-the-security-reckoning-ahead/" data-a2a-title="Predict 2026: AI, Trust and the Security Reckoning Ahead"><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fpredict-2026-ai-trust-and-the-security-reckoning-ahead%2F&linkname=Predict%202026%3A%20AI%2C%20Trust%20and%20the%20Security%20Reckoning%20Ahead" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_linkedin" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/linkedin?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fpredict-2026-ai-trust-and-the-security-reckoning-ahead%2F&linkname=Predict%202026%3A%20AI%2C%20Trust%20and%20the%20Security%20Reckoning%20Ahead" title="LinkedIn" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fpredict-2026-ai-trust-and-the-security-reckoning-ahead%2F&linkname=Predict%202026%3A%20AI%2C%20Trust%20and%20the%20Security%20Reckoning%20Ahead" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_reddit" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/reddit?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fpredict-2026-ai-trust-and-the-security-reckoning-ahead%2F&linkname=Predict%202026%3A%20AI%2C%20Trust%20and%20the%20Security%20Reckoning%20Ahead" title="Reddit" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fsecurityboulevard.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fpredict-2026-ai-trust-and-the-security-reckoning-ahead%2F&linkname=Predict%202026%3A%20AI%2C%20Trust%20and%20the%20Security%20Reckoning%20Ahead" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share"></a></div></div>