Navigating the New Frontier: 2026 Cyber Incident Communications Outlook

In an era where cyber incidents unfold in full public view, organizational resilience is tested less by the breach itself but by how effectively trust is maintained in the hours that follow. For communication and corporate affairs directors this means standing on the front line of protecting organisational trust and continuity. The paradigm has shifted - prevention is no longer the sole metric of success - the effectiveness of the response is. For corporates large and small, the question is no longer whether your organisation will experience a damaging cyber incident but when. Cyber resilience is a core driver of shareholder value.  

Lessons from 2025 

Last year served as a wake-up call, defined by three dominant trends that rewrote the cyber crisis playbook:

• The side-door breach: Most compromises bypassed the front door of corporate security, originating instead through third-party vendors. We learned that a brand’s reputation is only as secure as its least-protected partner. 

• Weaponized direct contact: Threat actors have shifted from purely technical attacks to high-pressure contact strategies. By directly targeting customers and journalists, threat actors create a pressure cooker environment. As seen in the 2025 attacks on Kiddo1 and Co-op2, threat actors are increasingly leveraging the sensitivity of stolen data to create "reputational leverage." These tactics weaponize internal panic and the threat of public scrutiny to try and accelerate ransom payments. 

• AI-driven social engineering: Deepfakes and AI-enhanced phishing made social engineering attempts nearly indistinguishable from legitimate corporate communications, forcing us to rethink how we verify truth. AI reduces the barrier to entry to deploy attacks at scale with greater success for less effort, conversely adding significant volume for communication directors to monitor. 

New risks and higher stakes in 2026 

Entering 2026, the cyber threat landscape has been reshaped by interconnected supply chains, rising geopolitical tensions, and rapid AI adoption - all of which are expanding the attack surface:

• The digital arms race & threats to our critical national infrastructure: With tensions between nation-states escalating, Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) remains in the crosshairs. The Head of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, Blaise Metreweli warned of heightened threats from Russia and other hostile states.3 For communication leads, this means preparing for incidents that are not just criminal, but political. In such circumstances, communications require particularly careful handling to avoid exposing the organization to unwanted scrutiny or criticism. 

• Systemic risk incidents & shadow AI attacks: The industry remains wary of a single failure with a universal critical supplier, such as a major cloud provider – a systemic event that could dwarf the CrowdStrike incident of 2024.  As AI becomes a staple of daily operations, the emergence of unauthorizsed AI usage and exploitation of AI agents by threat actors, presents a significant security blind spot. To mitigate these new avenues for data exposure, organizations must prioritize formal AI governance and proactive employee education.  

• Evolving regulatory requirements: Expanding oversight for the UK’s CNI: The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill was introduced to parliament in 2025 to improve UK cyber defenses and protect our essential public services. This legislation expands the scope of the 2018 Network and Information Systems (NIS) Regulations to include: Managed Service Providers (MSPs), data centres, large load controllers and critical suppliers of regulated organizations. The Bill introduces several key measures, but is not limited to: increased incident reporting requirements, shortening initial notification incident windows, enabling regulators to increase penalties for non-compliance, and granting the Secretary of State to issue directions to regulated organizations and regulators.

The complexity of modern incident communications 

Cyber incident communication has evolved beyond basic media relations into a high-stakes balancing act. Organisations must now navigate: 

• Interconnected risks: Managing the immediate fallout of business continuity and data privacy impacts alongside long-term legal, financial, and reputational consequences. 

• The stakeholder tightrope: Balancing the need for transparent, timely notifications against the risk of empowering adversaries or fuelling a hostile media cycle. 

• Complex regulatory reporting requirements: Ensuring compliance with diverse industry and jurisdictional regulations, each with distinct timelines and reporting criteria. 

Strategic priorities for communications directors 

To bridge the gap between technical reality and public perception, Sodali & Co suggest prioritises these four areas: 

1. Build greater connectivity with Cyber Security Teams and Legal counsel: The greatest friction point is timing – cyber security teams want certainty; PR needs a narrative, and legal must ensure compliance whilst minimising liability. Establish a pre-approved cadence for updates during the golden hours of an incident. 

2. Unified crisis command: Ensure your cyber crisis plan reflects 2026 risks, not 2025 realities. Clearly define roles between internal teams and external specialist agencies before the breach occurs. Pre-designate deputy staff to facilitate shift rotations amid intense operational demands. 

3. Supply chain and AI playbooks: Develop specific comms protocols for third-party compromises. You will be reliant on your suppliers’ data or systems to inform your response; understand those information-sharing agreements now.  In addition, establishing a dynamic strategy exploring AI-driven threats like deepfakes and misinformation.

4. Out-of-Band coordination: If your corporate email or Slack is compromised, your crisis plan is useless if you can't access it. Implement encrypted, out-of-band communication tools to ensure the response team can coordinate in a dark environment.  

How Sodali & Co can help  

Cyber incident communication preparedness and response are complex and cover a multitude of requirements and actions. If you would like to discuss this further, our specialist team is here to help. 

In an era where cyber incidents unfold in full public view, organizational resilience is tested less by the breach itself but by how effectively trust is maintained in the hours that follow. For communication and corporate affairs directors this means standing on the front line of protecting organisational trust and continuity. 

*The information provided about regulatory requirements is intended as a general overview. It should not be relied upon as a substitute for professional legal or compliance advice.  

*The Cyber Security and Resilience Bill will undergo detailed line-by-line scrutiny by the House of Commons committee in February 2026, highlighting that the bill’s provisions are still under development.