What happened
European cybersecurity firm Link11 has released new analysis identifying five major cybersecurity trends expected to influence defense strategies across Europe in 2026, based on its European Cyber Report and industry threat indicators.
Who is affected
Organizations across Europe, especially those with critical digital services, extensive API ecosystems, and hybrid cloud infrastructure, will need to adapt security and compliance strategies to evolving attack patterns and regulatory demands.
Why CISOs should care
CISOs must anticipate shifts in attack tactics and defense requirements to safeguard digital assets effectively: DDoS attacks are evolving into diversion tools for deeper intrusions; API-first environments are becoming high-risk entry points; fragmented security stacks are less effective against multi-vector attacks; AI-driven defenses are increasingly necessary to counter hyper-scale threats; and European regulatory frameworks (like NIS2 and DORA) are expanding compliance obligations.
3 practical actions
- Reevaluate incident response frameworks to treat DDoS events not just as availability issues but potential precursors to broader intrusions, integrating detection across vectors.Â
- Consolidate web security tools into integrated WAAP platforms that correlate signals across applications and APIs to detect subtle, multi-layer attack patterns.
- Strengthen regulatory compliance programs by aligning security operations with evolving EU requirements (e.g., NIS2, DORA), including rapid breach reporting and secure-by-design practices.