Artificial intelligence is not just transforming how people work, communicate and govern. It is also rapidly changing how fraud is committed, scaled and concealed. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2026, cyber-enabled fraud has become one of the most pervasive global threats, affecting individuals, corporations and governments at a scale that security experts say now rivals more familiar dangers like ransomware and data breaches.
The report, developed with Accenture, paints a picture of a cyber landscape under structural stress. AI-driven tools are amplifying both offensive and defensive capabilities, geopolitical tensions are reshaping threat models, and longstanding weaknesses in skills, governance and supply chains are converging into what the forum describes as a systemic risk to economic stability and public trust.
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Fraud Moves to the Center of the Threat Landscape
For years, cybercrime discussions focused on spectacular breaches or ransomware attacks that paralyzed hospitals and pipelines. The new report suggests a quieter but broader threat has taken center stage. Cyber-enabled fraud, often delivered through phishing, impersonation, deepfakes and social engineering, now touches everyday financial activity.
Seventy-three percent of survey respondents said they were personally affected by fraud or knew someone who was in 2025. Chief executives now rank fraud and phishing above ransomware as their top cyber concerns, a notable shift in executive attention.
Analysts say this reflects how fraud has adapted to digital life. Unlike ransomware, which tends to target large organizations, fraud scales effortlessly across populations. AI-generated messages, voices and images allow attackers to impersonate trusted institutions or individuals with growing realism, lowering costs and raising success rates.
Jeremy Jurgens, managing director of the World Economic Forum, said the impact extends beyond financial losses. Fraud undermines confidence in digital systems themselves, distorting markets and eroding trust in online interactions that increasingly underpin commerce and governance.
AI Accelerates Both Risk and Response
Artificial intelligence sits at the center of this transformation. According to the report, AI-related vulnerabilities rose faster than any other cyber risk category in 2025, with 87 percent of respondents reporting an increase. Data leaks linked to generative AI tools and the rapid improvement of adversarial capabilities were among the top concerns for the year ahead.
At the same time, nearly all surveyed leaders expect AI to be the most consequential force shaping cybersecurity in 2026. Organizations are responding by increasing assessments of AI-related security risks, but experts warn that adoption is uneven and governance remains inconsistent.
Paolo Dal Cin, Accenture’s global lead for cybersecurity, said traditional defensive approaches are no longer sufficient. As AI becomes weaponized by threat actors, organizations must move from static protection to dynamic defense, using advanced and agentic AI systems capable of detecting and responding to threats in real time.
This arms race, however, favors attackers in environments where oversight, investment or expertise lag. Poorly governed AI deployments can themselves introduce new vulnerabilities, from data exposure to automated decision errors that attackers can exploit.
Geopolitics and Supply Chains Widen Exposure
The report also highlights how geopolitical fragmentation is reshaping cyber risk. Sixty-four percent of organizations now factor geopolitically motivated attacks into their cybersecurity strategies, and the largest enterprises are adjusting their defenses accordingly. Yet confidence in national preparedness varies sharply by region.
While respondents in the Middle East and North Africa expressed high confidence in their countries’ ability to manage major cyber incidents, confidence was markedly lower in Latin America and the Caribbean. These disparities mirror broader inequalities in cyber capability and investment.
Supply chains add another layer of vulnerability. As digital ecosystems become more interconnected, disruptions at major cloud or internet service providers can cascade across industries and borders. Among large companies, nearly two-thirds cited third-party and supply chain risks as their biggest barrier to cyber resilience, an increase from the previous year.
Security experts say concentration risk has quietly grown as organizations consolidate around a small number of technology providers, turning efficiency gains into systemic exposure.
A Strategic Problem, Not a Technical One
Perhaps the report’s central argument is that cyber resilience can no longer be treated as a technical issue delegated to IT departments. Instead, it has become a strategic requirement tied to economic stability, national resilience and public trust.
Skills shortages and resource constraints continue to widen the gap between highly resilient organizations and those falling behind. Smaller firms and institutions in emerging economies are particularly exposed, lacking the talent and capital needed to keep pace with evolving threats.
Josephine Teo, Singapore’s minister for digital development and cybersecurity, emphasized the need for collective action. While AI can strengthen defenses through faster detection and response, she warned that its risks increasingly transcend borders, demanding coordinated governance and shared standards.
The forum’s call to action focuses less on new technologies than on collaboration: intelligence sharing, aligned regulations and investment in human capability. Without that, experts warn, the accelerating pace of AI-driven fraud could outstrip defenses, leaving digital trust as the next casualty of the AI boom.
In the emerging cyber order described by the report, the question is no longer whether attacks will happen, but whether societies can adapt quickly enough to prevent fraud from becoming a permanent feature of the digital economy.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
