Cybersecurity entered a new regulatory era in 2025. For the first time, global policymakers aligned on a shared belief: AI-driven attacks, expanding SaaS dependencies, and software supply-chain weaknesses now represent systemic economic risks. The result was a year defined by sharper enforcement, accelerated disclosure requirements, and rising expectations for AI and vendor accountability. Now it’s time to explore how all this regulation will impact 2026 communications – including social media, digital ads and public relations strategies.
Below is a look at how the cybersecurity regulatory landscape evolved in 2025 and where security leaders and technology vendors should direct their focus in 2026.
Looking Back at 2025
SEC Cyber Disclosure Rules Became the New Global Baseline
2025 was the first full year under the SEC’s cyber disclosure rules. The requirement to publicly disclose “material” cyber incidents within four business days immediately reshaped how organizations handle incidents. Companies were required to determine materiality faster, escalate findings more quickly, and align legal, investor relations, and security teams in near real time.
And these shifts didn’t stay contained to U.S. markets. Global investors, analysts, and even non-U.S. regulators began expecting the same level of speed and transparency, effectively treating the SEC’s model as the new default.
AI Governance Rules Began to Materialize
The EU AI Act moved from draft to law, establishing a global, risk-based blueprint. This required organizations worldwide that market AI systems to the EU to begin classifying their AI applications into risk tiers and documenting model provenance and testing.
In the U.S., Executive Order 14306, signed June 6, 2025, modified previous cybersecurity requirements for government and contractors, including mandating that federal agencies incorporate the management of AI software vulnerabilities and compromises into existing vulnerability management and incident-response processes.
The Privacy Patchwork Gets Messier
The U.S. privacy landscape splintered even further, with eight new state laws taking effect across Iowa, Delaware, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Maryland. For national organizations, compliance became a map of overlapping, sometimes conflicting rules.
Meanwhile, GDPR enforcement in the EU only grew more assertive. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission issued a €530 million fine to TikTok in May for unlawfully transferring EEA user data to China without adequate safeguards in one of the most visible cases to date.
What to Prepare for in 2026
AI Accountability Will Become Mandatory
Organizations should expect mandates for audit trails, model provenance, tamper-resistant development pipelines, and increased scrutiny around autonomous AI agents. This extends directly into the supply-chain debate: regulators are poised to treat AI models, training data providers, and embedded third-party components just like any other vendor dependency.
Security and marketing narratives in 2026 should focus on verifiable, measurable AI safety versus broad claims of “responsible AI.”
Expect Global Adoption of “Materiality-First” Incident Reporting
We can expect several countries to explore tightening their disclosure windows to match or even exceed the SEC’s requirements in the year ahead as they seek to push organizations toward real-time threat analysis, stronger forensic readiness, and closer cross-functional coordination.
After several high-profile software supply chain compromises in 2025, it’s likely that shoring up vendor relationships will be explicitly included in many of these requirements.
Sector-Specific Cyber Rules Will Expand
Sector-specific regulation is likely to intensify as healthcare authorities look to shore up AI diagnostic model safety and ransomware resilience, and financial regulators explore guardrails around algorithmic risk and cross-border data flows.
Critical infrastructure regulations in the U.S. will be significantly reshaped by the final rule under the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act (CIRCIA), expected by May 2026. CIRCIA will mandate 72-hour reporting of substantial cyber incidents and 24-hour reporting of ransom payments.
What This Means for Cybersecurity Vendors
When it comes to cybersecurity marketing in 2026, security and AI are no longer separate conversations. There are now two sides of the same resilience equation. In the coming year, security buyers, boards, and investors will demand proof: validated controls, continuous monitoring, and real AI governance. Buzzwords won’t cut it.
At 10Fold, we’re not just amplifying messages through public relations and social media strategies. We’re helping our cybersecurity clients lead the narrative with storytelling that shows (not just tells) that their AI is secure, explainable, and governed by enforceable guardrails. This must come through loud and clear in integration communications campaigns, including thought leadership bylines, award nominations, speaking engagements, corporate and executive social, digital ads, and press releases.
Learn how we can help with your communications strategy here.