In this expert roundup from Security Magazine, five leaders forecast what’s next in 2026—spotlighting shadow AI, the convergence of compliance and security, deepfake-driven disinformation defenses, quantum–AI security advances, and the mainstreaming of biometrics. Notably, Protegrity’s Arjun Kudinoor argues that the convergence of quantum tech and AI will redefine trust: from “promised” to physically proven through technologies like self-verifying quantum random number generators and agentic AI that adapts and mitigates errors in real time.
What’s in the piece
- Shadow AI risk accelerates: Unsanctioned tools, plugins, and “micro-AI” expand the attack surface and complicate governance.
- Compliance & security converge: EU AI Act, state AI bills, and sovereignty mandates push real-time assurance and automated controls.
- Disinformation security goes enterprise-grade: Organizations move from awareness to deployment of deepfake defense and trust operations.
- Quantum × AI reshapes trust (Arjun Kudinoor): Self-verifying QRNGs and agentic AI usher in security backed by physics and adaptive control.
- Biometrics scale: Easier management and unified identity stacks bring biometrics into everyday access control.
Why it matters
The 2026 agenda blends policy, physics, and pragmatism: organizations must govern how AI is used, verify what data and signals can be trusted, and automate which controls keep pace with machine-speed threats. The common thread is trust that can be demonstrated continuously—across people, processes, and increasingly autonomous systems.
Protegrity’s perspective
- Data-centric security for AI: Field-level protection (tokenization, masking, encryption) keeps sensitive data usable yet safe across agentic and LLM workflows.
- Built-in guardrails: Discovery, classification, and semantic controls reduce leakage and enforce least-privilege by default.
- Crypto-agility & quantum-safe roadmap: Preparing for PQC while leveraging advances in verifiable randomness and adaptive controls.
Trust moves from promised to proven:
As Arjun Kudinoor notes, quantum–AI advances (e.g., self-verifying randomness) and agentic guardrails will anchor security in physics and continuous verification.